§ Mr. LintonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he plans to consider(a) the order application for the link from London Underground's East London Line to Railtrack's South London Line and (b) the funding application for the southern link and the northern extension to the North London Line; and if he will assess the benefits of creating an orbital rail network for London. [74624]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Deputy Prime Minister gave permission for London Underground last August to do preparatory work for securing the legal powers necessary to build the southern extension to the East London Line. This work would need to be completed before an order application could be lodged.
London Transport and the Department are considering a number of ways in which both the Northern and Southern Extensions might be funded. Any appraisal of the extensions will take into account the benefit of establishing orbital railway links.