Mayor Johnson's view of meeting with Rail Minister
Mayor's Question Time – 18 November 2009 Transcript: Mayor's Oral Update
Boris Johnson (Mayor of London): … Of course the Members who came on the delegation [regarding the South London Line] to see Sadiq Khan [Minister of State for Transport] will know exactly what happened. I think it was, on the whole, a successful mission. The Government certainly heard our points and it heard the points that we were able to relay to it about the concerns of rail travel users in south London, and it is agreed that the Department of Transport (DfT) will give serious consideration to finding alternatives following the withdrawal of the South London Line mandated by it. In this whole story and in this conversation that has begun about rail travel in south London I think there is a danger that we will miss the big good news point - and I think I am entitled to stress the good news as the Mayor - that the extension of the East London Line, connecting it up with the North London Line, will hugely increase capacity for rail users in south London…
Does the Mayor then just take the TfL line that the new East London Line is more important for South London than the direct links into central London? Read full transcript here.