Laws seek transport boost

Two new pieces of legislation will aim to ease Britain's transport woes.

The Crossrail Bill, which authorises the cross-London rail link, is being carried over from the last parliamentary session.

It provides for a rail route between Maidenhead and Heathrow in the east and Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the west of London.

And a Local Transport Bill aims to combat road congestion, as well as improve public transport.

The government has found that there will be a 22 per cent rise in congestion by 2015 if no action is taken to address future transport requirements.

The Bill provides local authorities with the power to tailor their transport strategy specifically for their locality.

Bus services will be revamped and the Bill also focuses on devolving powers for local transport governance to councils, while at the same time allowing them to introduce local road pricing schemes.

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Supplementary Provisions) Bill, meanwhile, has seen a number of provisions added, aiming to elucidate the Channel Tunnel Rail Link's regulatory and legislative position.

An estimated 50,000 new jobs will be created in east London and the Thames Gateway by the £5.8bn Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

The Crossrail Bill was initially mooted in February 2005. Planning permission is required for the project - estimated to cost as much as £16bn.

However, it is predicted that Crossrail will add at least £20bn to UK GDP.

Under the legislation, compulsory purchase powers will be exercised for a five-year period, and there will be the potential to nominate an undertaker of the works as well as devolve the project to the London mayor.