Video: More big projects needed for UK, says Crossrail boss A survey of IoD members found that just 27pc feel HS2 represents good value for money, and 70pc say the scheme will have no impact on the productivity of their business. The Crossrail project will connect Maidenhead and Heathrow with Shenfield in Essex and Abbey Wood via a 75-mile rail line when it is fully complete in 2019. Transport for London is now also currently analysing the case for "Crossrail 2" which could link areas to the south of London to the north. Mr Wolstenholme said "lessons should be learnt" from the project, which took 35 years to progress from a study to the first shovels going into the ground in May 2009. The project was severely delayed in the nineties when a Parliamentary bill to sanction the scheme was defeated amid concerns over costs. Crossrail is now having to train up to 3,500 people in underground construction due to a lack of workers with the relevant skills to carry out the scheme, which is currently the biggest in Europe. Mr Wolstenholme said that "well-funded, well-directed economic infrastructure is very good for stimulating economic growth." But he added: "One of the reasons why we are always talking about the costs of doing things in the UK compared to the Continent is because we don't have that continuity of these major projects. These projects do take quite a long time to get to the start line but I think what we need to do is learn from Crossrail and understand how we can take those lessons forward to bring Crossrail 2 forward more quickly. Although the cost of Crossrail far outweighs any other recent infrastructure project in Britain, including the Olympics, it has been calculated that it will deliver a £42bn benefit to the UK economy as a whole, including supporting the equivalent of 55,000 full time jobs. Londoners stand to benefit the most, particularly from a sharp rise in house prices, but Crossrail claims 57pc of every pound spent on the project goes to the regions, with work being awared to suppliers from Falmouth to Fife. It will increase rail capacity in London by 10pc and will mean an extra 1.5m people will live within 45 minutes of central London by train The positive claims for Crossrail stand in stark contrast to some criticisms of HS2. A report last week by the Institute for Economic Affairs claimed the costs could spiral as high as £80bn, and there have been objections from leading politicians including former Labour ministers Alistair Darling and Lord Mandelson.