Less than five years after works began on Crossrail, Europe's largest infrastructure project today reached the halfway point of its construction.

Prime Minister David Cameron, Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Crossrail Minister Stephen Hammond marked the occasion by visiting the £14.8bn project, going 25 metres below ground to view progress at Crossrail's Tottenham Court Road site. The station will be a key interchange with London Underground when trains run through central London from 2018.

They were joined by apprentices and commuters who will benefit from the new east-west railway, along with Crossrail Chairman Terry Morgan CBE, Crossrail Chief Executive Andrew Wolstenholme OBE and Transport Commissioner Sir Peter Hendy CBE.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Big infrastructure projects like Crossrail are vital for the economy of London and the rest of Britain. They are the foundation-stone on which business can grow, compete and support jobs – a massive 55,000 jobs in the construction phase of this project alone."

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London's population is set to grow from 8.4 million today to around 10 million by 2030. Government, the Mayor of London and Transport for London are investing in Crossrail and other transport infrastructure to support access to jobs, education, housing and to boost economic growth.

Crossrail is part of TfL's investment programme. In addition to Crossrail, the Mayor and TfL are investing to deliver the modernisation of London Underground, major investment in the capital’s road network and the Mayor's cycling vision and further improvements to the Bus, London Overground and Tramlink networks.

Crossrail will add 10% capacity to London's rail network. It will serve 38 stations, connecting Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west with Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east via central London.

The economic benefits from Crossrail are spread across the country. It is estimated that Crossrail will generate at least 75,000 business opportunities and support the equivalent of 55,000 full time jobs around the UK. Three out of five businesses currently winning work on the project are based outside London and over half (58%) are small and medium sized enterprises. In addition to Crossrail, 61,000 jobs are created around the country annually through TfL's investment programme.

Seven 1,000 tonne tunnelling machines have bored over 29 kilometres of new 6.2m diameter tunnels under London with an eighth machine due to launch next month. Construction is also advancing on the ten new Crossrail stations and on works above ground west of Paddington and east of Stratford. 10,000 people are currently working on Crossrail, including over 280 apprentices, with the project at peak construction.

(CD/JP)