LONDON (AFP) — Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Friday gave the go-ahead to Crossrail -- a new railway line across London costing about 16 billion pounds.
Brown said a deal has been clinched to fund the east-west railway link, which aims to ease chronic congestion in the British capital's creaking transport system. The scheme will also generate about 30,000 jobs.
Brown, addressing a Crossrail meeting in central London, said it was "a great day for London, for Crossrail and the British economy."
Crossrail was of "enormous importance, not just for London but for the whole country," Brown added.
The line will run from Maidenhead in Berkshire, west of the capital, through the heart of central London, and as far east as Shenfield in Essex. It will also provide a link-up to Heathrow airport.
Construction work was due to start in 2010, while the first Crossrail trains would start carrying passengers in 2017.
Funding for the project is understood to be split three ways between the British government, the private sector and train fare revenues.
Crossrail will run mainly over land but will travel underground in central London. The capital already has an extensive underground railway network, while it is also served by a number of overland railways.
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