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More than 40 councils from across London and the south east have urged ministers to rally behind the “crucial” Crossrail 2 rail project.

Representatives of all 33 of the capital’s town and city halls plus “commuter belt” local authorities from Cambridge to Portsmouth have written to Chancellor, Philip Hammond, and Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, to demand their “full backing” for the £31 billion north-south route.

The letter warned that without the project taking pressure off existing rail and Underground networks “stations of national strategic significance at Waterloo, Clapham Junction and Euston will simply buckle under the strain of chronic overcrowding, stations on the London Underground will face more regular closures and the benefits of HS2 will be lost in chaotic transport connections.”

If it goes ahead Crossrail 2 services will run from Surrey to Hertfordshire with an underground tunnel beneath central London between Wimbledon and Tottenham Hale and New Southgate, although the exact route has still not been decided.

Mayor Sadiq Khan, said: “The support of local councils from Cambridge through to Portsmouth shows just how important Crossrail 2 is, not just to London but to the entire South East.

"It will provide much-needed relief for commuters who are forced to travel on overcrowded rail lines every single day, and unlock thousands of homes and jobs across the region.

“But Crossrail 2 is not just vital to the South East, its economic boost is vital to the whole of the UK. That’s why it’s so important that the government gives us its backing to proceed as soon as possible.”

The Government is expected to give the green light to the next stage of the project's development next month.

A bill paving the way for the scheme could be submitted to Parliament in 2019 with building work starting in the early 2020s. The project would take about a decade to complete.