£75m East London Line extension gets go-ahead

London Mayor Boris Johnson and Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon have given the go-ahead to a planned £75m extension of the East London line.

The new line will link Surrey Quays to Peckham and Clapham Junction.

The Department for Transport is providing £64m for the East London line extension and other transport improvements. Meanwhile City Hall and TfL will pay £15m towards the cost of the scheme.

Johnson said: "This is tremendous news. We can finally get cracking on a vital section of track that will orbitise our Overground rail services."

Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy said: "The East London line extension will deliver a key rail link south of the river and improve local transport for Londoners by providing more choice and better access to other parts of the capital."

"The extension to Clapham Junction will provide significantly improved access to the City and Docklands and will allow us to extend the high standards provided on our existing London Overground network - staff at all stations, Oyster pay as you go, and frequent services - to south Londoners."