All systems go for a world class railway

The £16 billion rail link which will transform transport in London passed a historic milestone today.

The Queen gave her formal royal assent to the Crossrail Bill - putting the whole project on track to be operational by 2017.

Work will begin next year on two tunnels which will run from Paddington to Canary Wharf, giving millions of passengers faster and more comfortable commutes.

The step ends decades of wrangling and comes after a long-running Evening Standard campaign.

The line will run from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west through tunnels under central London - with new stations at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel and Isle of Dogs - then out to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

More than 200 million passengers are expected to travel on Crossrail each year and it will run 24 trains an hour in each direction through central London during peak times.

The service will provide an alternative to packed Tube lines and will boost the development of Canary Wharf and the Thames Gateway.

Douglas Oakervee, chairman of the company behind the scheme, promised a new "world class affordable railway" for London. Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly, who played a key role in clinching the funding deal, said: "Crossrail has been talked about for decades and work can finally begin to deliver this fantastic project." Mayor Boris Johnson hailed the funding as a "cracking deal". He said the east-west link was vital to the future prosperity of the capital and would boost the quality of life of many Londoners, with shorter journeys, as well as benefiting visitors.

"Most importantly it can act as a catalyst for regeneration across the whole of our city," he said. "Londoners-living in the east will have far greater access to jobs in the centre of London and we expect to see the areas where they are living flourish from private sector investment in housing and development."

Mr Oakervee, of Cross London Rail Links, said: "After years of planning and discussion, we are ready to move into the delivery phase."

Baroness Valentine, chief executive of business group London First, said: "Final parliamentary approval signals government intent to get moving on this crucial project. But, more than that, it signals a world city investing in its future competitiveness." The Crossrail Act allows land to be bought and in effect gives outline planning permission to the scheme, the biggest engineering project since the Channel tunnel.

It was passed at the last minute by the House of Lords after months of legislative scrutiny. Every clause of the bill, which details all aspects of the development from where the tunnels will be bored to which buildings will be demolished to make way for new stations and ventilation shafts, was pored over by two committees - one in the Commons and the other in the Lords.

Ms Kelly had made clear she would force Parliament to sit late to pass the "hybrid Bill", an unusual Parliamentary device which gives the Crossrail company permission to build the project in the wider public interest.

Crossrail will be run by Transport for London in a significant extension of the body's powers. Steve Norris, the former Tory mayoral candidate and transport minister, is to take a key role in overseeing the project.

During the Conservative government of the 1990s Mr Norris pushed for the project but was bitterly disappointed when the Treasury ruled it did not represent value for money. This time round it will be funded by a combination of private and public cash. The Department for Transport is guaranteeing £5.6billion, the Mayor, through Transport for London and the Greater London Authority, will raise up to £7.7 billion, using a combination of borrowing on the back of the future revenues from a business levy and fares, plus other sources, while Network Rail has pledged £2.3 billion.

It is estimated that Crossrail will boost the UK economy by £20 billion and up to 14,000 people will be employed in its construction.

Enabling works will take place next year with the main construction starting in 2010. It will take seven years to bore deep under central London and build the massive stations associated with the project. Each will be a huge Tube interchange and some will see major new developments of shops, offices, hotels and private housing.

London's Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy said: "The importance of Crossrail to London's economy and transport network cannot be overstated.

"When complete, it will carry twice as many passengers as the Jubilee line, increasing London's public transport network capacity by 10 per cent."