Crossrail project to deliver London’s Elizabeth line: the parliamentary bill process

The Crossrail programme to deliver the Elizabeth line east–west railway across London, UK, was authorised by the Crossrail Act 2008. It was the culmination of 6 years of planning and development work by an organisation called Cross London Rail Links, which was created for the purpose as a joint venture between the Strategic Rail Authority (succeeded by the Department for Transport) and Transport for London. This paper explains the process of obtaining authorisation for the £14·8 billion project through a hybrid parliamentary bill process.