Royal sign off for Crossrail

August 11th 2008

London is set to get a world class cross-city railway after decades of campaigning by the rail industry, local media and RailStaff.

The hotly debated Crossrail Bill finally received Royal Assent in July. The way is now clear for work to start on the project which should take ten years to complete. The £16 billion rail link is expected to transform London. Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, joined transport secretary, Ruth Kelly and TfL’s Peter Hendy to mark the occasion at Liverpool Street station. Crossrail will be one of the largest additions to the transport network in London and the South East for more than 50 years.

Boris Johnson called it a cracking deal for the capital. ‘I am absolutely thrilled that work can now begin on one of the largest projects ever seen in the capital,’ he said. ‘Crossrail will shorten journey times for Londoners and visitors to our city whether they are heading for the bright lights of the west end or the citadels of commerce at Canary Wharf. But most importantly it can act as a catalyst for regeneration across the whole of our city, particularly in the east of the capital… a cracking deal for London.’

£16 billion funding package

Crossrail, with 24 trains an hour in each direction, will increase rail capacity directly benefitting the national rail network. The rail industry itself stands poised to take forward the project which has been costed and planned over the last ten years. The government finally backed the scheme announcing a £16bn funding package last October.

The line will run between Maidenhead in Berkshire and Shenfield in Essex. The new railway will dive under London in tunnels with new stations at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Isle of Dogs and Abbey Wood in the east. Essentially the Crossrail Act grants powers to acquire land and construct a railway.

Ruth Kelly admitted, ‘Crossrail has been talked about for decades,’ and went on, ‘I am delighted that now we have secured both the funding package and parliamentary approval, work can finally begin to deliver this fantastic project.’

The July assent marked a personal triumph for the indefatigable Douglas Oakervee, Executive Chairman of Cross London Rail Links, the company responsible for the rail link.

‘Royal Assent is the most significant milestone in the history of Crossrail. After years of planning and discussion, we are ready to move into the delivery phase of a project that will benefit London, the south east region and the UK as a whole,’ he said.

Huge boost to public transport

Rail chiefs have welcomed the news. Says Michael Roberts, Chief Executive of ATOC, ‘This is an important milestone which we welcome. Passenger numbers are growing fast and Crossrail will deliver additional and much-needed capacity to the city’s transport network and should enhance London’s world-city status. It will open up many new journey opportunities and deliver time savings to the daily users of both National Rail services and Underground networks. This is good news for rail passengers.’

Says Iain Coucher, CEO, Network Rail, ‘We have a thriving and punctual railway and the key challenge now is providing more capacity for passengers. Crossrail, along with projects such as Thameslink will provide a huge boost to public transport across the capital and beyond, linking some of the UK’s busiest transport hubs and adding a vast array of new journey opportunities to commuters, business and leisure travellers. Network Rail will play a vital role in preparing the existing rail network to accommodate a vast increase in traffic and providing upgrades to passenger facilities that encourage people to use the railway.’

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