Mayor of London Sadiq Khan smiles during an event to mark the completion of the Elizabeth Line at Paddington Station
(Picture: REUTERS)The Elizabeth Line will “turbocharge” Britain’s economic recovery from the Covid pandemic, Mayor Sadiq Khan has said.
Mr Khan said the line, set to be opened on Tuesday, will deliver a £42 billion boost to the UK economy and create “hundreds of thousands” of jobs.
“I am delighted that the Elizabeth Line will be opening on Tuesday – it’s a big moment, not just for London but the entire country, and particularly in this special Jubilee year,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
“This is the most significant addition to our transport network in decades and I’m sure passengers will enjoy the modern trains, beautiful and step-free stations and the reduced journey times across the capital and the South East.”
He added: “This is much more than just a new railway – the Elizabeth line will help to turbo-charge our recovery from the pandemic, delivering a £42 billion boost to the UK economy and hundreds of thousands of new homes and jobs.”
The Mayor’s office said that 62 per cent of the contracts relating to the line had been handed out to companies outside London.
They also predict that the new route will create some 90,599 new homes.
The line stretches from Reading in Berkshire and Heathrow Airport in west London to Shenfield in Essex and Abbey Wood in south-east London.
It is named in honour of the Queen, who visited Paddington station on Tuesday to mark the completion of Crossrail.
Crossrail, the project to build the new east-west railway, was delayed and over budget due to numerous issues including construction difficulties and complications installing signalling systems.
It was due to be completed in December 2018 and was set a budget of £14.8 billion in 2010.
The total cost has been estimated at £18.9 billion, including £5.1 billion from the Government.
