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.
The project  will be Europe's largest civil engineering project and will provide London with a world class railway. It will help add at least £20 billion to the UK's economy and is expected to increase capacity by carrying more than 200m passengers a year.

Work on the project will begin in 2010 with the first trains expected to run in 2017.

The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown  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."