The Government has given the go-ahead to the £16bn Crossrail project in London, which should be completed by 2017.



The route goes from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west right across the Capital into Essex and Kent in the East. It will travel underground through the city centre between Paddington and East London. It will operate with main line size trains, carrying more than 1,500 passengers in each train.



The funding is now in place for the long-delayed scheme. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it was a project of ‘enormous importance, not just for London but for the whole country’. He said the scheme will generate an additional 30,000 jobs.



Crossrail was first given the go-ahead by the Conservative government as far back as 1990 but mounting costs caused the project to be put on ice in the mid-1990s before it was revived in recent years.



Baroness Valentine, London First chief executive, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s great news for London, its great news for business in London and in particular the poor commuter. We are delighted.



“Londons transport system has been creaking for the last 20 years and governments of all hues have failed to invest. I guess they had to choose between investing in London and more hospitals elsewhere. If we want London to compete on a world stage, we have absolutely got to keep investing in its transport system.”