§ Mr. Gerald BowdenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport when it is proposed to commence construction of Cross Rail.
Mr. RitkindAs announced by the joint London Underground/British Rail CrossRail project team on 23 December, a review carried out by the Department of Transport and the operators recently concluded that the Private parliamentary Bill deposited last November would probably not he passed until late 1994. Construction might then be expected to begin in the financial year 1995–96, subject of course to the provision of resources.