3.The main purpose of this Act is to secure the powers necessary to build Crossrail. Crossrail will consist of new rail tunnels running west-east through central London connecting directly with existing surface rail routes to Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west and Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. By connecting the major London rail terminals of Paddington and Liverpool Street, Crossrail will enable interconnecting mainline train services to cross the centre of London via a number of new purpose-built stations.