Your local councillors have just approved splashing out £33 million of your money towards building a CrossRail station at Kensal. The cabinet approved this amount to underwrite the construction works last week.
Now we shouldnt under estimate the benefits of having a station in the borough on this new line, but serious questions have to be answered as to why the tax payer of K&C is being made to pay for it.
This is a major transport infrastructure, so the bill should be picked up by TfL.
Hang on...
Cllr Moylan the Deputy Council Leader, Cheesecake Eater Extraordinaire, and all round angry person is also Deputy Chairman of TfL (hold up a second, Deputy this, Deputy that.... ...always the bridesmaid and never the bride 'eh Danny?).
Who is exactly the driving force behind this decision?
Has someone done a deal with TfL that this borough will cough up the readies to enable it? Why did our council leaders roll over so easily and let TfL off the hook?
Shouldn't they be standing up for us?
Did Cllr Moylan play any part in the council discussions on this matter? If so there is a serious conflict of interest? If he didn't, then what is the point of having him as a councillor if on one of the most important transport issues he has to leave the room?
Why do we have a councillor who is also entrenched in TfL? Surely, if you are a councillor for RBKC, Deputy Chairman for TfL, and you bugger off to Thailand regularly somethings got to give.... ....and Phuket! Its probably not the trips to Thailand that suffer....
But, Dear Reader, putting that all aside, what can we expect with yet another major capital project being kicked off with a dip into your pocket?
We don't need a crystal ball, we can look at the history books; Holland Park School has shot up to almost £100million, four times the original sum.
Once we get a station that is built by your money, who is going to pay to run it? Do we just hand it over to TfL or will they expect an annual sum to keep it open? What about the actual railway line, will Daniel Moylan admit defeat on his York Stone project if K&C pay to construct the line from Paddington.
So many questions... ...so little answers.
This is going to be one very expensive train ticket Dear Reader....
Not to mention that the Council will have to buy a TRAIN to put on the line, as Crossrail have had to cut the number to save costs.
ReplyDeleteWoo-ooh, our own train set!
How much do trains cost anyway?
How much does a train set cost?
ReplyDeleteDepends if you use your Wedge Card or not.
The legality of the underwriting needs some thought. Most would believe that this project should either be funded centrally-as an infrastructure project, or by Tfl.
ReplyDeleteAre we going to be responsible for upkeep etc? I had no idea that RBKC was going to become Tfl's banker
TRAIN SPOTTER
This is another abomination of the Cockel/Moylan duo playing God in a playground with absolutely no checks and balances.
ReplyDeleteLong ago we learnt the folly of politicians "picking winners". They always turn into "losers". And for a Conservative council to be doing this is enough to make Margaret turn in her grave.
TFL is the responsible expert for transport business plans. If they cannot make Kensal Green work, then the K&C council should not be second guessing them.
The correct process is for the council to articulate the benefit, enlist the support of the MP to lobby for urban regeneration funds if necessary (where is the Rifkin man in all of this??? Nowhere to be seen of course) and try to find central funds if TFL have run out of money.
But this is too difficult for our boy Cockell. Easier to sting the long suffering K&C council tax payer for another folly in the sky.
It wont stop at £33m either. It will be another £100 million by the time the extra line from Paddington is built and the cost of running the station is added in.
The idea of Hornton Street becoming a train operator......
Pass the sick bag, Palmer
Is it a flying train? I heard there is a technical problem with sharing tracks.
ReplyDeleteIts not a flying train, its another stealth tax on hard pressed K&C council tax payers
ReplyDeleteClearly it's a gravy train.
ReplyDelete