Crossrail Case Study: London As A World City

2.It will strengthen links to key financial centers (Heathrow, the West End, the City, and Canary Wharf) to support London as a world city and bring an additional 1.5 million people within 45 minutes commuting distance of London’s key business districts.
3.It will reduce travel times into and across London, with reliable and efficient service and 24 trains per hour at peak times through Central London.

Crossrail construction has created more connectivity than urban quality in major areas in London, creating unbalanced nodes and calling for urban quality enhancements (see above) to fully reap the real estate opportunities offered by connectivity increases. Thus, Crossrail delivers integrated designs for stations, above-station developments, and public spaces. Each element complements the others to create places and transform spaces.
Crossrail Limited, which is tasked with delivering the
Crossrail estimates the total cost of the urban realm improvements outside every station on the route at £129 million. The target is to raise and implement £90 million of improvements by Crossrail’s opening. The funding will be split between Crossrail, TfL, and third parties (principally local authorities through developer contributions).
London property value analysts widely recognize that a driving force behind Crossrail’s ability to support development activity and property market values is investment in the extent, configuration, and quality of public space immediately around each station. According to GVA, the new stations, developments above the stations, and planned urban realm improvements have the potential to redefine Crossrail’s stations as the centers of the communities they serve, as attractive places with entertainment, public art, restaurants, and public spaces—places to spend time in, not just to pass