Crossrail objectives

Crossrail had three main objectives:

■ Support the continued development of London as a world city and its role as the financial centre of Europe and the UK.

■ Support the economic growth of London and its regeneration areas by tackling congestion and the lack of capacity on the existing rail network.

■ Improve rail access into and within London.

To deliver these objectives the project planned to:

■ Provide extra capacity into central London from the west, north-east and south-east to reduce car journeys by 15,000 in the morning peak.

■ Provide extra capacity between London and the Lea Valley by releasing platform capacity at Liverpool Street station. Other areas will benefit from better access to Heathrow Airport and improved crossLondon connections.

■ Improve accessibility within and across London by providing a high-capacity link. Give direct access between London’s three business districts (West End, City and Docklands) and its main international access points, including Heathrow and Stratford (for Eurostar). Provide a new rail link across the river Thames and heavy rail access to Docklands.

■ Relieve crowding on London Underground and main line services.

■ Improve access to and from regeneration areas in East London, Thames Gateway, Hayes and Southall. Attract more jobs and residents to these areas.

■ Boost performance in finance and business service sectors by removing employment constraints in central London to generate wider economic benefits for Britain.