4 December 2008
Full speed ahead for Crossrail
A deal worth up to £350m that will help deliver Crossrail on time
and on budget has been finalised with the City of London
Corporation. The agreement was announced today by Andrew Adonis,
Transport Minister, Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and Sir Michael
Snyder of the City of London Corporation.
The Minister and the Mayor also announced the signing of a
series of core funding and governance agreements that will underpin
the project.
The City of London Corporation has agreed to make a direct
contribution of £200m to the Crossrail project. In addition, the
City Corporation will seek contributions from businesses of £150m,
and has guaranteed the first £50m of these contributions.
This confirms the City’s full support for Crossrail and is the
latest in a series of milestones for the project, including the
announcement last month of BAA’s £230m funding contribution.
As Europe’s largest construction project, the delivery of
Crossrail will provide a boost of at least £20 billion to the UK
economy as well as generating an extra 30,000 jobs. It will also
help secure London’s position as a world leading financial centre
by delivering a 10% increase to the capital’s rail capacity when it
opens in 2017.
Transport Minister Andrew Adonis said:
"This is a landmark moment in the delivery of Crossrail, and
once again signals the commitment of businesses to this vital
project. It is a hugely important scheme that will be crucial in
keeping London and the rest of the country globally
competitive.
"Crossrail will bring 1.5 million people within 60 minutes’
commute of London’s major financial districts, as well as
delivering a much needed boost to rail capacity to and from
Heathrow Airport. Its construction and operation will also create
thousands of new jobs, at a time when they are much needed."
Mayor of London Boris Johnson said:
"Today is an important moment for London as Crossrail, the
largest addition to the transport network in the South East for 50
years, will now move forward full speed ahead. This is a crucial
milestone and, with funding committed and agreements in place, 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.
"Crossrail is vital to London and the UK, providing an enormous
boost to the economy and, in the tough economic times ahead,
creating thousands of jobs linked to its construction. Crossrail
has been a dream for many years, and these agreements now give the
project the momentum that will make it become a reality"
Sir Michael Snyder of the City of London Corporation added:
"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 and for this reason we are delighted to support the
funding of this vitally important new railway."
Today’s 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. This finalises how the project
will be governed and continues to build momentum toward the start
of main construction works in 2010.
Since the Crossrail Bill received Royal Assent on 22 July 2008,
Crossrail has been moving rapidly ahead and progress includes the
appointment of new Crossrail Board members, the appointment of a
new Non-Executive Chair, preparatory works to confirm the location
of utilities in the Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road and
Paddington areas, the establishment of a special design panel to
look at the design of new Crossrail stations in central London and
the start of the competitive tendering process to select the
contractors.
Crossrail will run 118 km from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the
west, through new twin-bore 21 km tunnels under central London
connecting key London stations including Paddington, Bond Street,
Tottenham Court Road, Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf and on to
Abbeywood 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.
Ends
Notes to Editors
- Crossrail will be the biggest construction project in Europe
and will provide a major boost to the UK economy during the current
economic climate as the Jubilee Line Extension did during the early
1990s. Next year, Crossrail will begin the process of recruiting
the large numbers of staff that will be required to deliver
Crossrail. At the height of construction in 2013/15, up to 14,000
people will be employed to build Crossrail.
- Key milestones in the delivery of Crossrail to date
include:
- Compulsory Purchase Orders at Tottenham Court Road coming into
force in January 2009 ahead of demolition works beginning in the
Spring;
- Appointment by Crossrail of the companies that will become the
Partner and Programme Delivery Partner and of a Design Framework,
in the first quarter of 2009;
- London Underground tendering for the redevelopment of the
Tottenham Court Road Tube station – which will ultimately integrate
with Crossrail into one station - with work due to commence in late
2009.
- The following funding and governance agreements have been
signed as part of today’s package:
- Sponsors Agreement between DfT and Transport for London which
sets out the overall management, ownership and governance of the
project;
- Project Development Agreement between CLRL, DfT and TfL which
appoints CLRL as the project deliverer of Crossrail;
- Shareholders Agreement between CLRL and TfL which enables CLRL
to become a 100 per cent subsidiary of TfL, finalising the
governance arrangements for the project;
- An agreement between London Underground and Crossrail to ensure
integration of Crossrail with existing services
- Crossrail's £15.9bn funding package was announced by the Prime
Minister, on 5 October 2007 and outlined in the Head of Terms,
published 26 November 2007. The Heads of Terms is now superseded by
the agreements set out today.
- Transfer of Cross London Rail Links Ltd to Transport for London
as a 100 per cent subsidiary will take place on 5 December.
- DfT is responsible for £5.6bn of funding with the Mayor, via
Transport for London and the Greater London Authority, responsible
for £7.7bn of funding. Canary Wharf Group and Berkeley Homes will
also contribute through the construction of new stations at the
Isle of Dogs and Woolwich respectively. A £230 million funding
package with BAA was confirmed on 4 November 2008. Network Rail are
also delivering £2.3bn of works across the rail network.
- As part of the Greater London Authority / Transport for London
funding of Crossrail, £300m will be raised by developer
contributions. The Mayor of London has today confirmed that he has
commenced consultation with stakeholders on an amendment to the
Mayor’s London Plan planning framework which will enable this
funding stream to be realised. (TBC).
- A Business Rate Supplement levied on London largest businesses
will be used to support £3.5bn of Crossrail funding. The Government
is introducing legislation today to enable local authorities to
introduce business rate supplements.