The UK Government is set to provide a £350m loan to Crossrail to complete its Elizabeth line, which will operate between Shenfield, Stratford and Abbey Wood through central London to Reading and Heathrow.
In August, Crossrail announced that the launch of the Elizabeth line would be delayed until next year due to financial shortages. Crossrail is a subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL).
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The loan will be used to complete the final phase of the tunnels, as well as work on safety and reliability testing required for railway systems.
UK Transport Minister of State Joseph Johnson said: “As an interim measure, we are announcing that £350m of short-term repayable financing will be made available to the Mayor for the year 2018/19.
“This will ensure that full momentum is maintained behind Crossrail.”
An estimated 200 million passengers annually will benefit from the project, delivering £42bn of investment into the UK economy.
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By GlobalDataThe 118km line is expected to increase London’s rail-based transport network capacity by 10%, as well as reduce journey times across the city.
The line is also set to bring 1.5 million people within 45 minutes commuting distance to major business districts of London.
Crossrail is projected to employ up to 14,000 people at peak construction season in 2013/2015 and create 7,000 additional jobs indirectly.
