Erith and Thamesmead MP John Austin today welcomed the announcement by the Prime Minster that Crossrail had been given the go-ahead with a £16bn funding deal to secure its construction.
Crossrail will link Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west with Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the East. It will include new stations at key city locations including Bond Street, Farringdon and Canary Wharf in addition to a rebuilt station at Abbey Wood and a new station in Woolwich.
Speaking shortly after the announcement, John Austin said:
"This is great news for Erith & Thamesmead. This is the most important investment in public transport which is key to the regeneration of our area.
"Not only will Crossrail give local people access to jobs across the river but it will lead to inward investment in Abbey Wood, Thamesmead, Belvedere and Erith providing local jobs for local people.
The Government, the Mayor, the Corporation of London and Canary Wharf and other partners are to be congratulated on putting together the financial package which will make Crossrail a reality and put Abbey Wood on the map. And thanks to Berkeley Homes and the efforts of Greenwich Council and the Crossrail Bill Committee there will be a station at Woolwich which is the transport hub for the area.
Crossrail will transform journey times into London for my constituents who will be able to travel from Abbey Wood to the Isle Dogs in 12 minutes, Liverpool Street in 20 minutes, Tottenham Court Road in 26 minutes and Heathrow Airport in 56 minutes.
This news coupled with the opening of the Docklands Light railway station in Woolwich in fifteen months time is a real reason to bring out the Champagne.
Our task now is to argue for better public transport linking the Jubilee Line at North Greenwich and DLR station at Woolwich with Belvedere, Erith and Thamesmead.”
The Prime Minister said:
"I believe this is a project of enormous importance not just for London but for the whole country.
By generating an additional 30,000 jobs and helping London retain its position as the world's pre-eminent financial centre, it will support Britain's economic growth and maintain Britain's position as a leading world economy.
And by delivering quicker journeys from some of the most economically disadvantaged parts of the city to the most economically important, it will support regeneration particularly in the most deprived parts of our country."
Work on the £16 billion project will begin in earnest in 2010 and the first trains are expected to run in 2017. It will be Europe's largest civil engineering project and will provide London with a world class railway that supports its growth as a world-leading finance centre. It will help add at least £20 billion to the UK's economy.
The unique deal announced today will mean that Crossrail is both funded by the Government and the businesses that are set to directly benefit from the link. The Parliamentary Bill to secure the necessary powers to begin construction of the link is expected to get Royal Assent in Summer 2008.
