Thames Gateway is a massive regeneration project that will bring thousands of new jobs and homes to the Thames Gateway – a 40 mile stretch from London Docklands to Southend in Essex and Sheerness in Kent. Together with its agencies and delivery partners, Department for Transport continues to help develop and support innovative and sustainable transport solutions that work for everyone. This is critical to ensuring regeneration, growth and communities that people want to live and work in.

A number of significant milestones have already been achieved. These include:

• The new £100m international station at Ebbsfleet which opened in November,2007. The project coincided with the opening of the £6 bn high speed rail link to the Channel Tunnel which was financially underwritten by the Government.
• On top of this we are well on the way to realising our aspiration to invest over £2.2 bn in transport schemes including domestic services on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and the London Underground.
• In July 2008 the Crossrail Bill was given Royal Assent. This world class development will connect high frequency, convenient and accessible service across the capital.
• Initial preparatory work the London Gateway Port development started this year permitting the first phase of the development to start in 2010-2011. This major port and logistics site represents a new type of development for the UK. It  will be capable of holding the largest deep-sea container ships and is set to eventually support 14,000 jobs.
• We have worked with CLG to complete the appraisal of transport schemes that support new housing growth in the Thames Gateway area, that we had earmarked for £100m worth of funding from the Community Infrastructure Fund and are now getting these schemes to the delivery stage.
• In October 2008, London City Airport gained planning approval to increase flights from 80,000 to 120,000 per year.
• Kent Fastrack Route A which links the Bridge development with Dartford, Greenhithe Station and Blue Water is now fully established and is being widely used for daily trips that would otherwise have been made in a car.