The new rail route will provide four fast trains an hour to Heathrow and will also run direct services from Heathrow airport through central London, the City and Canary Wharf. New stations will be created at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel and the Isle of Dogs (Canary Wharf).

The rail project is the UK's biggest transport project since the Channel Tunnel and is expected to create up to 30,000 jobs, experts believe. Transport Minister Andrew Adonis said: "Crossrail is the largest addition to the transport network in 50 years, and today's announcement represents a major step towards its delivery.”

The project received the Parliamentary go-ahead in July with the first trains expected to start running from 2017 and carry 200 million passengers a year. The government and the mayor of London are providing the bulk of the project's cost while Lord Adonis has assured that despite the economic downturn businesses in London would keep their funding promise. The City had agreed to make a "significant contribution to the future of Crossrail", he said.

The 74-mile route (118.5km) will be underground for 26 miles (41.5km) and allow for stops at 38 stations.

Heathrow Express (HE), serving trains from Heathrow Airport to London Paddington Station, believes that it will continue to be an important air-rail link and vital connection to the airport.

“Crossrail will replace Heathrow Connect and serve Terminal 4, while Heathrow Express continues to be the Terminal 5 Service. It is far too early to know how it could affect the ticket prices, but we are confident that HE will continue to provide an attractive proposition”, - commented to airrail NEWS Iona Maclean, spokeswoman of HE.

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