Where railways money will be spent

* £4.5 billion on Thameslink (with another £1 billion on new trains) Capacity will increase through heart of London by 400 per cent, taking the number of train carriages per hour from 64 to 288 or 3,500 seats per hour to 17,000.

* £2 billion for Crossrail; the planned twin-bore tunnel through central London linking with existing rail networks to the west and east and connecting with Heathrow.

* £450 million for King's Cross station to redevelop the ageing site, which handles 47 million passengers a year. By 2013 the size of the station's cramped concourse will be tripled, an extra platform will be built and there will be improved access to Thameslink and St Pancras International.

* £425 million improving the track layout around Reading station - one of the most notorious train bottlenecks in the country.

* £250 million improving the East Coast main line between King's Cross and the North with new track, junctions and level crossings to improve train journey times.

* £50 million on a new link between the East Coast main line and Cambridge to increase commuter services to London.

* £26 million on Paddington station, including restoration of the Edwardian roof over platforms nine to 12.