John Healey is expected to throw his support behind plans for international trains to stop at a second London station.
The Mayor of London is seeking to raise funding through a Business Rate Retention Zone (BRRZ) to open up Stratford International Station to cross-Channel services.
Stratford International could open to trains to and from France in four years
Stanndard/AFP/Getty/Virgin
Mr Healey is believed to be minded to agree to such a funding mechanism and he could announce his approval as soon as the Budget on October 28.
No final decision is understood to have been made by the Treasury.
Talks between City Hall and the Government are understood to be “very positive”.
A BRRZ would mean the capital keeping more business rates raised in the city rather than the money being used to fund other regions.
Lord Sadiq Khan says plans for Stratford International Station are almost over ‘the line’
London Assembly
Cross-Channel trains could be halting at Stratford International Station within four years under the blueprint drawn up by City Hall.
It would see the station opened up at an estimated cost of some £20 million for international services to operate by around 2030 in a huge boost for east London.
Stratford, which would have a capacity of 250 to 300 international passengers at a time, would not be a London terminal station like St Pancras International, which can handle 2,500 to 3,000 per hour.
But one in three trains to and from France may stop in east London in future.
Using the Stratford station would mean some five million people in and around the capital getting easier access to international rail services than having to use St Pancras International.
Departures board inside Stratford International Station
LS
Operators are also considering other destinations in Germany and Switzerland.
Eurostar has so far declined to run services from Stratford.
The station was originally planned two decades ago to link up to services to the North and Midlands and this could happen under longer term plans.
Halting international trains in east London could deliver a boost to the area of between £2billion to £3billion over 60 years, according to some estimates, as the it becomes far more attractive for multi-national and other companies to locate headquarters, offices and other facilities.
Passport control signs in both French and English at Stratford International Station
LS
The welfare minister first raised the prospect of a Stratford halt when he was chairman of Newham planning committee in the late 1980s.