What is Crossrail?
Crossrail is a £15.9 billion project to build major new railway connections under central London, with an east-west tunnel from Paddington to Liverpool Street Station.  It is one of the largest infrastructure projects ever to be constructed in the UK.

Where will stations be located?
Central London:
Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Moorgate/Liverpool Street and Whitechapel and will provide interchange with the Underground and national rail stations.
Outside London:
Along the Great Western Main Line in the West
Along the Great Eastern Main Line in the East
Isle of Dogs, Custom House, Woolwich and Abbey Wood

Who is running the project?
Cross Rail Ltd, a 100% owned subsidiary of Transport for London, is the authority who will build the line.

Will it be built and, in light of the current financial situation, should it be built?

“We need (A) to get Crossrail built as soon as possible, since it will ferry 72,000 people East-west every day”.  Boris Johnson Conservative blog, September 2007

Richard Asher, Jones Lang LaSalle’s Head of Compulsory Purchase and Compensation, was quoted during his Property Week article “Downturn must not derail Crossrail” 10 October 2008:

“My answer is, yes, it should be built and built now, for several reasons.”

“We need new infrastructure to maintain London as one of the prime financial centres of the world.  Many people will remember that in the 1980s there was a serious concern that London’s position as a world financial marketplace would be lost to Frankfurt – then the main financial centre of West Germany. The threat of London losing its dominant position is still there.  We need a 21st- century public transport system in the capital for a 21st century city if we are to maintain our competitive edge on the world stage.”

“There is an opportunity to upgrade whole swathes of central London: Tottenham Court Road, the east end of Oxford Street, Farringdon; and the area from Whitechapel to Mile End in the east.  All these areas will be substantially upgraded, stimulating private investment and development in these locations.”

“The line will benefit the wider public outside London as it will reduce congestion and free up capacity on other public transport routes.  Starting the project now will help to maintain employment over what is likely to be a difficult period in the jobs market.”