Dave Arquati wrote:
Apparently we aren't getting any details on the extra £12.3bn
funding for transport in the chancellor's Spending Review yet;
however, the BBC is leading ahead with a rather misleading article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3885919.stm
["]
The chancellor is expected to announce whether London's Crossrail
project is to get the financial backing it needs in his annual
spending review.

Transport Commissioner Bob Kiley said he hoped it would be part of
Gordon Brown's outline of government spending plans for the next
three years.

A further £2bn is needed to complete the project, which will link
east and west London.

The government has already pledged £2bn to the £10bn transport link.

Work has started on the rail link which will provide transport
between Heathrow Airport in the west and the Isle of Dogs in the
east.

It will also include a twin-bore tunnel between Paddington and
Liverpool Street in central London.

Mr Brown will outline the government's spending review in the House
of Commons on Monday afternoon. ["]


When did the government already pledge £2bn and when did work
start???

I'm not aware that they have. This report is derived from a PA News
report based on Bob Kiley's appearance on BBC1's Politics Show, which
attributes the words to Kiley himself.

Work has started in the sense that design and consultation are
proceeding, and test boreholes have been drilled in various places this
year.

The BBC report has been updated now to reflect the lack of news in
Gordon Brown's statement. The map seems to show every possible route
option for Crossrail 1, including several that have have now been
withdrawn, e.g. Aylesbury.

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)