Heathrow airport has underestimated the cost of road and railway links for a third runway by more than £16 billion, Transport for London has claimed.
TFL, which is under the remit of outspoken critic of Heathrow expansion Boris Johnson, said estimates for upgrade work to the city’s transport system were eight times more than Heathrow’s £2.2 billion calculation.
Heathrow said that only £1.2 billion of public contribution would be required to upgrade local road and rail links, while Heathrow itself expected to spend a further £1 billion.
TFL claimed there had been a substantial underestimate of the increase in congestion on local buses, trains and roads.
Heathrow chief executive John Holland-Kaye told the Times that the transport department’s estimate was a “long list of anything that might be needed across London”.
Last year, government delayed a decision on airport expansion until at least the summer.
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