CGI impression of the new station at Whitechapel Pic: Crossrail

A north-south high-speed rail line across the capital which would see the creation of a new station in Dalston came a step closer to reality last week when an independent body gave it the go-ahead.

The National Infrastructure Commission said in a report that the route, Crossrail2, should be “taken forward as a priority”. The route from Hackney could slash travel times to central London to 10 minutes.

 This comes just four months after the plans to extend the line east through Hackney were shelved as there was not a strong enough business case to support the funding.

Hackney locals are split over the benefits of the Dalston station, with many raising concerns about the impact of the construction work.

The Chancellor George Osborne is expected to reveal whether the Government will fund the route – called Crossrail2 – during his Budget speech on Wednesday (March 16).

The backing came in a report published on March 10 in which the commission’s chair, Lord Adonis, said: “Crossrail 2 should be viewed as an investment of national significance.”

 The £27bn link will provide a vital north-south railway line and Lord Adonis urged Osborne to be supportive of the project and to allocate funds to develop the plans.

 It is anticipated that the line could be running by 2033, and Lord Adonis estimates that the population of London will have increased to 10 million by this time and Crossrail 2 will open other areas up to commuters and reduce congestion on commuter routes.

 The report states that the development will ‘allow for regeneration’ around transport hubs in Hackney as well as other London boroughs, suggesting the potential for 10,000 to 15,000 new houses in the north east inner London area.

 Lord Adonis said: “There is no good reason to delay. Crossrail 2 will help keep London moving, create hundreds of thousands of homes and fire regeneration across the city form North-East to South-West. We should get on with it right away, and have the line open by 2033.”

However, locals are concerned about the loss of Shoreditch Park, the only green space in Shoreditch, which may be used to build a huge ventilation shaft.