Croxley Rail Link plan approved by Government

We are delighted to announce that Croxley Rail Link has been awarded the necessary central government funding required for its construction.

The central government money, announced December 2011 by the Department for Transport, supplements £40.46million of local contributions. The project now has all the funding needed to construct the new section of tube line. Hertfordshire County Council, London Underground, Network Rail, Watford Borough Council and Three Rivers District Council are working in partnership to deliver the project.

The Croxley Rail Link is a proposed diversion and extension of the Watford branch of the Metropolitan line to Watford Junction via Watford High Street. New stations will be provided on the new rail link at Ascot Road, which forms a park and ride site for the area, and Vicarage Road serving the Watford General Hospital and the proposed Watford Health Campus development. As part of the proposals the existing Watford Metropolitan terminus station will close to passenger services.

Elected Mayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill said: “This is fantastic news. The scheme will support economic development in Watford and south west Hertfordshire by providing first class transport links to business and retail centres. The experts say it will provide hundreds millions of pounds of benefits to the area and give more people better transport links. It’s about investing in the future and will help boost our efforts for the £750million Watford Health Campus project.”

The county council and London Underground will now submit a Transport and Works Act Order in January 2012 which, if approved, will grant the statutory powers needed to construct, operate and maintain the link.