Firms invited to lead Crossrail

Crossrail will create an extra 30,000 jobs and add £20bn to the economy

The government has invited bids to oversee construction of the £16bn Crossrail scheme to build a 73-mile (118km) rail network across London.

Construction of the network, the UK's largest transport project since the Channel Tunnel, was approved in July.

Crossrail will run from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

Transport Minister Andrew Adonis invited tenders from nine shortlisted firms to project manage the scheme.

Final funding for the network has not yet been signed off.

Unless the money is secured soon, the start of major construction work - planned for 2010 - may have to be delayed.

The Department for Transport (DfT) said it had issued an Invitation to Tender for a team of highly-skilled project management professionals.

Today's invitation to tender is a demonstration of our commitment to delivering this service Andrew Adonis Transport Minister

A spokesman said their work would be to make sure the rail network, which is due to contribute at least £20bn to the UK economy and create an extra 30,000 jobs, was delivered on time and on budget.

Mr Adonis said: "When Crossrail is completed it will provide passengers with 24 trains per hour in both directions through central London at peak times, increasing the capital's rail capacity by 10%.

"Today's invitation to tender is a demonstration of our commitment to delivering this service."

The DfT said that next year Crossrail would begin the process of recruiting the "large numbers of staff" required to deliver the rail link.

Crossrail is scheduled to begin service in 2017, and aims to bring an extra 1.5 million people within 60 minutes commuting distance of central London.