by Doug Oakervee, Crossrail Executive Chairman
November 2007

Friday, 5th October was a great day for Crossrail. It was a great day for London and the UK – indeed,  for anyone with an interest in the ongoing success of our capital city and in the quality of life and of opportunities for people in this country.
It was the day that Crossrail moved from a project proposal, which a huge number of people have been promoting for many years, to become a Government-backed certainty.
It was the day that Gordon Brown confirmed the funding and the green light for Crossrail.
I joined the project in December, 2005 but, before me, many people have led the effort to see a new cross-London railway delivered to improve transport connections and access in the region. Indeed, the original concept has been around since the mid 19th century!
It is a scheme which will bring a significant number of benefits to the UK as a whole and I am delighted to see it moving forward.
We now await a formal Royal Assent in 2008 and look forward to introducing the first new Crossrail services from 2017.

Capturing the benefits
With approximately £16bn set to be invested, making sure that Crossrail delivers a positive return on investment is essential. Of course, it is easy to see the immediate benefits in terms of adding 10% additional capacity to London’s transport network, relieving congestion for commuters, and providing quicker and more direct connections to destinations across London, the Thames Valley and into Essex and Kent.
Crossrail, however, is about far more than just new transport infrastructure. It is about underpinning the economic success of London and the south east, with knock on impacts spreading right across the UK. It is about supporting the ongoing growth of London, bringing new opportunities for jobs and attracting further inward investment. And it is about equipping London to remain a pre-eminent global city which attracts the biggest and best businesses and people to work here.
Our research shows that, for the £16bn invested, GDP benefits for the UK will be at least £37bn, meaning that benefits exceed costs by a factor approaching 3:1. As for the transport connection improvements which we take as read, passengers will be able to travel from Heathrow to Canary Wharf in 43 minutes (instead of the 64 minutes it takes on London Underground), or from Ealing Broadway to Liverpool Street in 20 minutes (instead of the 27 minutes on London Underground). Whichever way you look at it, Crossrail is going to provide outstanding improvements and, as we move into construction, we are looking forward to seeing these achieved.
How will we build it?
Constructing Crossrail will be one of the largest engineering projects ever undertaken in the UK. Not only are we developing 118.5km of Crossrail route but we need to construct 41.5km of new tunnel under central London. Typically, this will be at a depth of 20-30m and, as with any major earthmoving construction project, we have to be meticulous about the way in which this is carried out.
Since we deposited the Hybrid Bill with Parliament, we have undertaken an extensive value management and engineering review process to ensure that we achieve a world class affordable railway. This process has provided us with more than 200 ways to achieve increased construction efficiency and modifying our tunnel drive schedule has been one of the more significant changes.
We are now working to prepare for when Royal Assent to the Crossrail Bill may be given. We hope this will happen sometime later in 2008, and from there we can move forward with construction proper. Our timetable is for enabling works to commence in 2009, for the main construction to start in 2010, and for the first Crossrail services to be in operation by 2017. It is something we are all looking forward to and which we know will be a big test. I am confident, however, that we can deliver Crossrail on time and on budget and that, in doing so, we can make a major contribution to improving the capability and experience of the UK’s engineering and construction sectors.
What will Crossrail look like?
Crossrail will be the biggest improvement to London’s transport infrastructure since the Jubilee Line extension, bringing new transport technology and modern design and safety standards. At its heart, however, Crossrail is about providing a reliable, functional, and affordable railway. We are delivering proven technology and will be using the world’s best and most experienced consultants and contractors to help us to get it right.

As I have learned through more than fifty years in the industry, it is no good building something which breaks the mould if it only goes on to succeed in breaking the budget or breaking down. Crossrail will involve modern rolling stock and use the most up to date tunnelling and track/signalling systems but, above all, it will deliver value for its customers.

This philosophy applies equally to the design briefs for our new Crossrail stations. We will build stations that cater for the needs of passengers, ensuring that functionality, performance and safety are our highest priorities. There is no room for showpiece architecture within Crossrail – our mission is to deliver an affordable railway for Londoners and network improvements above all else.

Investment and opportunities

The Government’s backing for Crossrail – and the funding package agreed with business and the public sector – is a big plus for us. At the same time, it should give everyone involved in UK railways a boost.
I am a strong believer in the quality and integrity of the UK rail industry and am delighted to see investment going into schemes like Thameslink and the East London Line, alongside our own project. There are many detractors of our industry
– and Crossrail has had its own share of critics over the length of time that it has taken us to move the project into construction – but I sense a shift in attitudes and we have the opportunity to make major positive impacts through the delivery of these key projects.

I certainly hope that the Crossrail team are providing something of which we can all be proud. I would like to think that in 20 years, for example, Crossrail will be held up as one of the best things to have happened in London in this generation. Ken Livingstone, current Mayor of London, has already said: ‘Crossrail is even more important for the long term future of London and the UK than the Olympic Games.’

What next?

When Gordon Brown, Ruth Kelly and Ken Livingstone visited our offices on 5 October to celebrate the funding announcement, we moved into a new phase. We now have the financial assurances we need to make Crossrail happen.
Our next priority is to achieve the Royal Assent which grants the legal powers for us to proceed. We are optimistic that this will come in the next parliamentary session, unlocking the way for our construction team and engineers to mobilise. Enabling works will occupy a significant amount of the first twelve months of the project – and necessarily so to ensure we have the best foundations in place. In 2010, we will then be getting on with the business of tunnelling and track, working on detailed construction plans which are being painstakingly assembled to ensure maximum efficiency and the best possible result.

Our construction teams will be following a rigorous Construction Code which is being prepared to ensure that standards and safeguards are put in place to minimise disruption. From my experience of major projects, I am acutely aware of the importance of being part of the community both during construction and following. We will be making every effort to mitigate the major earthworks and construction impacts that Crossrail will generate, aiming to minimise disruption and, ultimately, to deliver Crossrail as smoothly as possible. We do not underestimate the scale of this challenge but we do believe that, through proper planning and preparation, we can get this right.

Moving forward

I consider myself very fortunate to be leading the Crossrail project at this time. It is not just a crucial project for the UK, but one which has the eyes of the world upon it. I am confident that, with the backing and momentum we now have, we look forward to bringing the benefits of Crossrail to reality.

For London, for the UK, and for everyone involved in the project, this is going to be an exciting challenge and a major test for the
UK construction, engineering and rail industries. It is not one we can afford to fail and it is not one that we shall.