History of the Crossrail project
Construction started in 2009 and, heavily delayed, the central section was opened by Elizabeth II on 24 May 2022 with full completion due in 2023.
The concept of large-diameter tunnels crossing central London to connect Paddington in the west and Liverpool Street in the east was first proposed by railwayman George Dow in The Star newspaper in June 1941.
[2] "Route A" would have run from Loughborough Junction to Euston, replacing Blackfriars Bridge and serving largely the same purpose as the Thameslink Programme.
"Route F" would have connected Lewisham with Kilburn via Fenchurch Street, Bank, Ludgate Circus, Trafalgar Square, Marble Arch and Marylebone.
[12][non-primary source needed] A more ambitious proposal named "Superlink" was proposed in 2004, at an estimated cost of £13 billion, including additional infrastructure work outside London: in addition to Crossrail's east– west tunnel, lines would connect towns including Cambridge, Ipswich, Southend-on-Sea, Pitsea, Reading, Basingstoke and Northampton.
[15] In 2005, ahead of Crossrail's hybrid bill submission, a number of feeder routes were considered by CLRL west of Paddington and east of Liverpool Street.
Another option via Aylesbury (via Amersham) and Chesham performed strongly, however was discounted due to contractual conflicts with the then Chiltern franchise and Metropolitan line PPP concession.
In the east, routes to Abbey Wood (curtailed from Ebbsfleet to avoid conflicts with the North Kent lines) and Shenfield were selected.
A second route performed better, taking the eventual Abbey Wood branch as far as Custom House, then following the old Beckton alignment through Barking Riverside and joining the Tilbury line at Dagenham Dock, but was discounted due to requiring extensive additional tunneling.
While cheaper than the selected option, this was discounted due to potential conflicts with Southeastern services, significant impacts to the Charlton area, and difficulties identifying feasible station sites on the Greenwich Peninsula.
The selected Shenfield branch was shown to have lower economic benefits than other routes selected, but was chosen due to the improved accessibility into Stratford and the Olympic Park regeneration area, and significant crowding benefits on the Shenfield Metro routes which would release additional capacity for Lee Valley services.
In November 2008, while announcing an agreement for a £230 million contribution from BAA, Transport Minister Andrew Adonis confirmed that funding was still in place despite the global economic downturn.
[citation needed] On 15 May 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Mayor of London Boris Johnson attended a ceremony at Canary Wharf to mark the start of construction.
A turn-back facility, now built west of Paddington, could have been sited at Kensal to provide a frequent service to a new station to regenerate that area.
So the council agreed to underwrite the projected £33 million cost,[33] and a consultancy study that then concluded a Kensal station would not compromise Crossrail.
TfL conducted a feasibility study on the station,[34] and the project was supported by local MPs and residents, the National Grid, and some retailers.
