Another option - as a result of Ken/Boris exercising his Mayoral
powers over railways outside London - TfL assume responsiblity for
Crossrail and lets the franchise as part of London Overground/
Underground ensuring that maximum connectivity with the existing TfL
network - after all Crossrail has unlike Thameslink not been designed
as an equivalent RER but merely a full gauge fast tube.- Hide quoted text -

Building on my earlier suggestion - the Scottish (because they always
are) Chancellor will no doubt appreciate that TfL control is a great
way of making Boris responsible for getting the banks and property
companies who will benefit from increased land values to stump up the
cash for Crossrail - especially if at the same time making London
shoulder the cost for any Jubilee line extension type cost overruns -
(roughly in the same way the SNP have threatened Edinburgh Council
with over run costs on the Edinburgh trams, or Border Councils with
costs on the Waverley line.) By the way for those who don't feel they
are part of London the Government is to allow the Mayor and TfL to
increase or decrease service levels on trains outside the London
boundary. No doubt some contributor can draw the boundaries of this
influence - on Thameslink/FCC IIRC I think this will extend to Saint
Albans.