Calls to green light London’s Cross River Tram (CRT) scheme have intensified amid fears the plan may be in jeopardy.

Mayor Boris Johnson is reported as saying he did not ‘plan to spend a lot more money on the Cross River Tram’ at a budget committee meeting last week.

There is currently funding in Transport for London’s Business Plan up until 2010 to develop the scheme, but no Government funding has been earmarked for implementation.

Mayor Johnson is currently considering the future of the CRT and other unfunded projects, and is expected to reach a conclusion later this year.

Val Shawcross, Labour’s transport spokesperson on the London Assembly, said: ‘It is impossible to underestimate what a horrendous blow the loss of this scheme would be to South London in particular.

Some key regeneration projects could be plunged into doubt if the tram doesn’t happen.’ A seminar exploring the pros and cons of the proposed tram service – which would run between Euston and Waterloo with branches to Camden Town and Kings Cross in the north and Brixton and Peckham in the south, at a capital cost of £1.3bn – was held this week.

Supporters say the line is vital to improve links between north and south London, regenerate deprived areas and relieve pressure on Tube and bus services – by 2025, rail and tube crowding is expected to increase by 37%. Alternative options to the CRT include Northern Line enhancements – the Charing Cross and Bank branches would be separated which could lead to a 50% increase in tube capacity on each branch in the central area, costing less than the CRT. The introduction of dedicated bus-ways was also put forward as an option.