Has Boris got a transport deal to help his re-election?

So Boris Johnson is to stand again for Mayor.

Speaking on BBC London 94.9 the Mayor said he wanted to argue for fewer cuts from a position of clarity and stand again.

He also said he believed the Prime Minister David Cameron and the Chancellor George Osbourne understood the value of investing in transport infrastructure.

So, from that, can we deduce he's secured funding for the Tube upgrade and Crossrail?

With the spending cuts looming transport budgets in London are looking vulnerable.

As I've written before, the Department for Transport has a budget of £12.7 billion.

Of that Transport for London gets £3.2 billion (as part of an annual £9bn budget) and £1.7bn goes on the Tube upgrades.

So if the DfT's budget is cut by 40 per cent some say the upgrades may never happen.

It seems Boris Johnson is pinning his hopes on getting a decent settlement for the Tube upgrade, Crossrail and Thameslink.

Or certainly he wants to make it look like he's fought extremely hard with central Government to get a decent settlement.

His aides have told me: "He's pretty confident they accept the case he's made on those."

But there are those that think a row with the Coalition Government is actually what Boris wants and needs.

My colleague Norman Smith has just written a piece about it. He calls it the "the semi-detached strategy" - a deliberate attempt by Mr Johnson to put some distance between himself and the Prime Minister.

Tony Travers from the London School of Economics has just told BBC London:

"It's not a massive surprise Boris Johnson is running again.

He's obviously been pacing the decision as to when he will announce it, almost certainly to put a bit of pressure on the Government about spending items particularly big ticket items such as Crossrail and the tube upgrade.

But the implication of what he's announcing today is that he feels he's got enough of a commitment from Government to say yes to standing again."

He goes on:

"The implication is those items are secure, but having got commitments, if he has from the leadership, at the national level, he's still going to have to distance himself a bit from the Conservative Government.

If you're going to be a Mayor of London you're always going to have to distance yourself from your own party particularly when it becomes unpopular in mid-term."

So will this strategy work? Could central Government have called his bluff?

From a commuter's point of view are we going to get the upgrades and Crossrail?

Yet again we have huge billion pound infrastructure projects caught up in politics.

Having been burnt a few times (remember Crossrail first time round?) that makes many people in the transport world extremely nervous.

Let me know what you think...

UPDATE: 3.20pm

Boris Johnson has told BBC London's Political Editor Tim Dononvan this morning that he can't wave a piece of paper showing government have guaranteed sufficient funding for transport.

But the Mayor said they are hearing the message loud and clear, and now have the 'certainty' that he will be standing again to see them through .

And just a thought - what if the Tube upgrade, Crossrail and Thameslink are protected and indeed go-ahead but, for example, the bus subsidies get cut and fares go up again?

The Department for Transport have made it very clear Transport for London won't escape the funding cuts completely.

Will safeguarding the "Big 3" still be enough for Boris Johnson to get re-elected?

Or is he putting all his eggs in one big project basket?

Bear in mind Crossrail completion date is 2017 (at the moment....) and so voters aren't going to be that impressed with that for a few years yet.

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