Superlink to rival Crossrail unveiled

Detailed plans for a new Crossrailstyle east-west train service through central London were revealed today.

The scheme, known as Superlink, is even more ambitious than the long-delayed £11billion Crossrail scheme, which aims to link Heathrow in the west with Canary Wharf and Stratford in the east via Paddington.

The new scheme, backed by City finance house Babcock & Brown, would follow the same underground route through central London as Crossrail.

Superlink's high-speed trains would also run as far as Basingstoke and Guildford to the south-west; Reading to the west; Stansted, Cambridge and Northampton to the north and Ipswich, Southend and Pitsea to the east.

Former rail chief Dr John Prideaux, who made a fortune during rail privatisation, is heading the scheme. He called on the Government to "think again" about Crossrail in favour of his project, which would not depend on billions of pounds of taxpayer's cash.

Superlink would cost £13.2billion but Dr Prideaux said it would carry about four times as many passengers as Crossrail, helping it cover costs.

The idea was condemned by rail chiefs, one of whom described Superlink as a "fat-cat fantasy". The Railway Forum, which represents the industry, warned Londoners could end up with "Lostrail", with neither Crossrail nor Superlink going ahead.

Like Crossrail, Superlink would mean the construction of a twin-bore tunnel through London with enlarged stations at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf. Completion date would be 2012 for both projects.

Crossrail remains stalled as it would need at least ?5billion of public subsidy. Chancellor Gordon Brown is unwilling to commit more. A Corporation of London report concludes it may never be built.

Dr Prideaux said: "We think the building of a new east-west railway is too big an opportunity to be allowed to go wrong. Our scheme serves the planning needs and traffic patterns of the 21st century."

Superlink director Chris Stokes said a new fleet of high-speed air-conditioned trains would be ready to replace existing stock as it was phased out. The project, it is claimed, would cut journey times from Stansted to Heathrow from 100 minutes to an hour, and from Guildford to Paddington from an hour to 45 minutes.

But Railway Forum director-general Adrian Lyons said: "Crossrail has the backing of a uniquely wide range of stakeholders. To now suggest it should not go ahead and we should place our faith in a concept that is, at best, in the earliest stages of development and will cost more, is just not an option."

Mayor Ken Livingstone said that to halt Crossrail now for a new proposal "at this late stage is entirely unrealistic".

Dr Prideaux, 60, was a boss of InterCity trains. When British Rail was privatised in the mid-Nineties he and a venture capital group bought train leasing firm Angel Trains and sold it to Bank of Scotland for ?395 million. It is estimated Dr Prideaux received around ?15 million.