Chancellor unveils Crossrail’s new tunnel under the Thames
16 Jun 2014 10:26 AM
Latest Crossrail tunnel
will slash journey times from south-east London and support the construction of
new housing.
On Friday (13 June 2014), the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP, unveiled
London’s newest tunnel under the River Thames.
The ‘Thames Tunnel’,
part of the £14.8bn Crossrail project, stretches for almost 2 miles and
took 2 and a half years to complete. It will help to significantly improve
connections between south-east London and the rest of the capital when it opens
in 2018. As a result of the new link journeys times will be cut by up to half
from Abbey Wood to Canary Wharf, Bond Street and Liverpool
Street.
The Chancellor was joined 15
metres below ground under the river Thames at North Woolwich by Crossrail
Chairman Terry Morgan and Crossrail apprentices who have worked on the
tunnels.
Speaking from the site the
Chancellor said:
As part of our long term
economic plan we are investing in infrastructure around the country to create a
more balanced, resilient economy.
Crossrail is not only providing
extra speed and capacity for London’s passengers, but also supporting new
housing, jobs and businesses.
Since 2008 there have been
planning applications within a kilometre of Woolwich Crossrail station for
4,286 new homes, over 70,000 square feet of new office space and 114,000 square
feet of new retail space.
Crossrail will also develop
almost 500,000 square feet of residential development above the new station.
Berkeley Homes is currently constructing 631 new homes above Woolwich Crossrail
station, of which 265 (42%) will be affordable.
It is estimated that Crossrail
will generate at least 75,000 business opportunities and support the equivalent
of 55,000 full time jobs around the UK. Three out of five businesses currently
winning work on the project are based outside London and over half (58%) are
small and medium sized enterprises.
In January, the Crossrail project
reached the half-way point in construction on time and on
budget.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson,
said:
London is the engine room of the
UK and projects such as Crossrail are helping to drive our country’s
economy in the right direction. Completion of The Thames Tunnel is yet another
important chapter in the Crossrail story - a tale that perfectly highlights how
investing in major transport schemes can trigger development and unlock the
potential for thousands of new jobs and homes.
Rail minister Stephen Hammond
said:
Crossrail will transform travel
for millions of passengers across London and help regenerate communities along
the route. The planned Woolwich station is already delivering on that promise
and is transforming the southeast of London, attracting investment from
businesses and developers, and supporting our plans for long-term economic
growth. This is a major milestone in the Crossrail project and demonstrates
that our plans to build a world-class railway are firmly on
track.
Terry Morgan, Crossrail Chairman
said:
Crossrail will help to transform
this part of London, boosting the local economy, creating new transport links,
reducing congestion on existing rail services and supporting wider
regeneration. We have now completed over 21 miles of new rail tunnels beneath
the streets of the capital and are more than half way through the
project.
Mike Brown MVO, Managing
Director London Underground and Rail, said:
The completion of this tunnel
under the Thames marks another key milestone in the construction of Crossrail
which when it opens will boost rail capacity in the capital by 10 per cent.
Cities are the engine of the UK’s growth and continued investment in
infrastructure improvements is vital to create jobs and stimulate growth across
the UK.