The Crossrail Act 2008 (c 18) is an Act of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

that authorises the construction of the

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...

railway from

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

and

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

Shenfield Shenfield is a commuter suburb of Brentwood, in the borough of Brentwood, Essex, England. In 2020, the suburb was estimated to have a population of 5,396. History The old village (now town), by the church and Green Dragon pub, lies along the ...

and

Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an area in south east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. Toponymy The area takes its name from Lesnes Abbey Woo ...

. The legislation was introduced by the then Secretary of State for Transport

Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a Labour politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, previously Paisley South, from 1997 until his defeat in 2015. During this time, he served as ...

and received

Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...

on 22 July 2008. The Crossrail bill was introduced on 22 February 2005 and was carried over between sessions of Parliament on three occasions.Bills and Legislation
/ref> Although public Bills generally pass through Parliament in a single session, this was a

Hybrid Bill In the United Kingdom a hybrid bill (which becomes a hybrid instrument or Hybrid Act) is a government measure which affects a particular individual or organisation in a different manner to other individuals or companies in the same class; it thus b ...

, which has the characteristics of both public and private bills and is subject to scrutiny in the same way as both a public and private bill, and generally takes longer to be considered. The last such hybrid bill introduced led to the

Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 The Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 (c. 61) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made legal provision for the construction, maintenance and operation of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link between St Pancras railway station and th ...

Sections

Works

''For more detail of the route of Crossrail see the separate article on

.'' The Crossrail Act 2008 provides for the construction of a tunnel with a western portal at Royal Oak in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and eastern portals at

Custom House A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

and Pudding Mill Lane, both in the Borough of Newham in east London.-Retrieved 2008-11-08 It also allows for the construction of railways in the surrounding boroughs, in

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...

and in parts of

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

, and

Essex Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...

, but will in practice only involve improvements to the existing main line railways it will share outside central London. There is also an exemption to Section 31(7) of the Electricity Act 1989 which states that all overhead lines must be approved by the Secretary of State before being built. Instead, overhead lines may be built within the railways located in previously mentioned land.

Land

The Secretary of State may acquire any land mentioned in the Act after the passage of the Crossrail Act 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-08 Although there is a five-year limit on land acquisition, the Secretary of State may extend this power for up to another five years. In addition, private rights of way may be extinguished upon the passing of the Crossrail Act 2008 and the loss of these rights must be compensated.

References

External links

* {{UK legislation United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2008 2008 in rail transport Crossrail