London Crossrail Could Generate 30,000 Jobs

The City of London Corporation has signed will contribute at least £250m to the construction of Crossrail, the £16billion proposed east-west rail link across the capital.

The Corporation will pay £200million directly to the project, and ask city businesses for a further £150million. It has promised to underwrite at least £50million of this contribution if it is not forthcoming.

London mayor Boris Johnson said Crossrail's construction would now move forward “full speed ahead”. He said: “The pace of delivery will now quicken - with Crossrail transferring to TfL tomorrow, work at Tottenham Court Road beginning in the spring, and delivery partner companies being appointed early next year.”

The GLA said the delivery of Crossrail will provide a boost of at least £20 billion to the UK economy and generate an extra 30,000 jobs, with construction starting in 2010. It said it will also deliver a 10% increase to the capital's rail capacity on opening, earmarked for 2017.

Sir Michael Snyder of the City of London Corporation said: “Crossrail is critical to the future of London's economy and it is essential that we continue to make major improvements to our transport infrastructure during these challenging times. Crossrail is absolutely crucial in keeping London and the UK globally competitive.”

The Crossrail line will run 118 km from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through twin-bore 21 km tunnels under central London, connecting London stations including Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf and on to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the East.

When complete, the railway will operate 24 trains per hour in each direction through central London during peak times. This will provide extra passenger capacity and relieve the Central and Piccadilly lines.