Crossrail overview
Crossrail will be one of the largest and most ambitious transport infrastructure projects ever carried out in London.
Mayor Ken Livingstone describes Crossrail as “the single biggest addition we can and need to make to London's infrastructure”, if the city is to support the projected growth of its population and its economy.
Construction work on the railway system is set to begin in 2010 with the first trains running in 2017, with a cost of up to £16 billion.
The 118 kilometre long line will serve 38 stations, many of which will be substantially upgraded and will enable an estimated 200 million passenger journeys a year - twice the capacity of the Jubilee line.
To the west of London, Crossrail will begin at Maidenhead as a surface line with stops at Taplow, Burnham, Slough, Langley, Iver, West Drayton, Hayes and Harlington, Southall, Hanwell, West Ealing, Ealing Broadway and Acton main line before going into a tunnel to arrive at Paddington. Importantly, the service will serve Heathrow Airport using the existing tunnel for the Heathrow Express, positioned between West Drayton and Hayes and Harlington.
The central London section will be entirely underground with major stations at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street and Whitechapel.
To the east of the City after Whitechapel, the track will fork with a north eastern section emerging overland before Stratford, then taking in stops at Maryland, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Chadwell Heath, Romford, Gidea Park, Harold Wood and Brentwood and terminating at Shenfield. The fork to the south east of Whitechapel will take in stops at the Isle of Dogs and Custom House, terminating at Abbey Wood.
Each train will be 200 metres long and made up of 10 air conditioned carriages.
The proposed funding package identified proposes that the cost of Crossrail will be met by Government, fare payers and London businesses.
