A Landmark moment in the delivery of the London Crossrail project was achieved today as a deal worth £350m was finalised with the City of London Corporation.
The funding agreement, as well as a series of governance agreements, was announced today in a joint statement by Transport Minister, Andrew Adonis, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Sir Michael Snyder of the City of London Corporation.
The bulk of the funding will be provided by the City of London Corporation who have agreed to make a direct contribution of £200m to the project. In addition, the City Corporation will seek contributions from businesses of £150m, and has guaranteed £50m of these contributions.
The Crossrail project, touted as Europe's biggest construction project, will provide 1.5 million people with transport links to London and boost rail capacity to and from Heathrow Airport.
Transport Minister Andrew Adonis said that the business commitment to the project was vital in keeping London and the rest of the country globally competitive.
"Crossrail will improve transport in the capital and also create thousands of new jobs, at a time when they are much needed," Adonis said.
The delivery of Crossrail is expected to provide a boost of at least £20bn to the UK, generating an extra 30,000 jobs.
London Mayor Boris Johnson said that today was important as the largest addition to the transport network in the South East for 50 years can now move ahead.
"This is a crucial milestone and, with funding committed and agreements in place, the pace of delivery will now quicken," he said. "Crossrail transfers to TfL tomorrow, work at Tottenham Court Road will begin in the spring and delivery partner companies will be being appointed early next year.”
The confirmation of funding and governance agreements means that Cross London Rail Links Ltd (CLRL), the company responsible for the delivery of the project, will now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London.
City of London Corporation's Sir Michael Snyder said that he was delighted to support the funding of this essential improvement to London's infrastructure.
"Crossrail is absolutely crucial in keeping London and the UK globally competitive and therefore critical in these challenging times," he said.
Crossrail will run 118km from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through new twin-bore 21km tunnels under central London. It will conntect key 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 substantial new passenger capacity and crowding relief, particularly on the Central and Piccadilly lines.
By Daniel Garrun.
