Construction of Crossrail

In our report, Light at the end of the tunnel: the construction of Crossrail, the London Assembly Transport Committee offers strong support for the £16 billion rail link, but questions why London is contributing more than half of the funding for a project that is estimated to generate £22 billion for central government over the next ten years.

The committee is highly critical of Crossrail Ltd’s dealings with displaced businesses and residents whose premises are compulsory purchased to make way for construction work.

The report recognises the benefits Crossrail is expected to bring, including an extra ten per cent capacity on London’s overcrowded rail and Tube network, thousands of new jobs and a massive boost to the national economy.

The committee has also requested more details on targets for skills and employment opportunities for Londoners, and on the environmental impacts of Crossrail both during construction and when it is up and running. Follow-up work and progress checks will be carried out regularly over the coming years.

See more follow-up work on Crossrail since the publication of the report.