The transport secretary has backed the Crossrail scheme in London and moves towards road pricing for motorists.

Alistair Darling announced details of his review of the 10 year transport plan in the Commons on Tuesday.

He said the government would introduce hybrid legislation to allow the East-West London rail link to go ahead.

But he said more money would have to be found among the business community along with strict cost controls.

Ken Livingstone, the Capital's mayor, is likely to be delighted that Crossrail has finally been given the green light.

Both public and private sector funds will be required to get the £10 billion scheme off the ground.

"A major funding challenge remains," Darling conceded.

But publishing the Montague report on the project, he said the business case for Crossrail was "strong".

Road pricing

Darling also welcomed a new report which could lead to nationwide road pricing.

The study into the economics and technology of road pricing outlined the benefits of a "pay as you drive" system to replace road taxes.

Motorists could face charges of up to £1.40 a mile for driving in the most congested areas.

And they would be charged for using trunk roads at peak times in a bid to stop unnecessary rush hour journeys.

Low use drivers in rural areas could expect to make a saving over the current yearly vehicle licence fee.

In a foreword to the new transport white paper Tony Blair acknowledged that: "We cannot simply build our way out of the problem we face. If we do nothing, traffic and congestion will continue to grow, with more delays, higher costs and greater damage to our health and environment.

"The key is how, not how much, motorists pay for road use. We will do the work necessary to allow the hard decisions to be taken nearer the time."

Darling said a nationwide scheme was not ready to be introduced yet but that local projects could soon be off the ground.

But he stressed that more attention would have to be paid to persuading motorists of the benefits.

"I know these things are difficult and controversial. You have to take the public with you, you have to win their confidence," he said.

"Moving to a national scheme would be fraught with difficulties. Introducing this scheme would be instead of the present system.

"What we are not talking about is piling one tax on another."

Light rail

However Darling disappointed some MPs with his decision against funding for light rail extensions in Manchester and Leeds.

The transport secretary said he "could not support" projects that risked dramatic cost over-runs.

Conservative spokesman Tim Yeo said that  the 10-year transport plan the government was revising had been a "disastrous failure".

He listed a series of targets set out by deputy prime minister John Prescott that had either been missed or scrapped.

Liberal Democrat transport spokesman John Thurso said he would support moves towards road user charging.

But he asked whether this could be brought in on a "much shorter time frame".

He also challenged Darling to live up to the government's environmental targets.

"We must meet the challenge of cutting our emissions growth," he said.