| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to make provision for a railway transport system running from Maidenhead, in the County of Berkshire, and Heathrow Airport, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, through central London to Shenfield, in the County of Essex, and Abbey Wood, in the London Borough of Greenwich; and for connected purposes |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2008 c. 18 |
| Introduced by | Douglas Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport (Commons) Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lords) |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 22 July 2008 |
| Other legislation | |
| Relates to | Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 |
Status: Current legislation | |
| History of passage through Parliament | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
TheCrossrail Act 2008 (c. 18) is anAct of theParliament of the United Kingdom that authorises the construction of theCrossrail railway fromMaidenhead andHeathrow Airport toShenfield andAbbey Wood. The legislation was introduced by the then Secretary of State for TransportDouglas Alexander and receivedroyal assent on 22 July 2008.[2] The Crossrail bill was introduced on 22 February 2005 and was carried over between sessions of Parliament on three occasions.[3] Although public Bills generally pass through Parliament in a single session, this was aHybrid Bill, 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 theChannel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996.
For more detail of the route of Crossrail see the separate article onCrossrail.
The Crossrail Act 2008 provides for the construction of a tunnel with a western portal at Royal Oak inWestminster,London and eastern portals atCustom House and Pudding Mill Lane, both in theBorough of Newham in east London.[4] It also allows for the construction of railways in the surrounding boroughs, inGreater London and in parts ofBerkshire,Buckinghamshire, andEssex, but will in practice only involve improvements to the existing main line railways it will share outside central London.[4] There is also an exemption to Section 31(7) of the Electricity Act 1989 which states that all overhead lines must be approved by theSecretary of State before being built. Instead, overhead lines may be built within the railways located in previously mentioned land.[4]
The Secretary of State may acquire any land mentioned in the Act after the passage of the Crossrail Act 2008.[5] Although there is a five-year limit on land acquisition, the Secretary of State may extend this power for up to another five years.[5] 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.[5]