Department for Transport

Full speed ahead for Crossrail
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date 4 Dec 2008 09:49
source Department for Transport
type Press release

note DEPARTMENT FOR TRANSPORT News Release (192) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 4 December 2008

Joint Press release between DfT, TfL, GLA and City of London Corporation

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 £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 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.

Notes to Editors
1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Transfer of Cross London Rail Links Ltd to Transport for London as a 100 per cent subsidiary will take place on 5 December 2008.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 top-tier local authorities to introduce business rate supplements.

DfT Public Enquiries: 020 7944 8300
Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk

Railhub Archive ::: 2008-12-04 DfT-001