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About Jim Crawford: He has worked on the railway since 1994 as a consultant working for Turner & Townsend. Holds a BA in management systems and a BSc in quantity surveying - is a RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) member In 1997 he was working for London North Eastern infrastructure projects and headed up the multi £million refurbishment of Grade I listed Newcastle station. From 2000 to 2002 he took over the Leeds First project and delivered this £200m scheme. From 2002 to 2004 he headed up the upgrade to the cross country route. From 2004 to present he became project director of projects for signalling, telecoms, electrification and plant. In CP3 this amounted to £2.5bn of projects and in CP4 £3.5bn. Mr Crawford, 43, is married with two children. About Thameslink The Thameslink Programme is a £5.5 billion investment in improved rail infrastructure and new rolling stock. It will deliver more capacity, and more journey options for passengers travelling through or to London from the North and South. In all work will be required at 50 stations with some 4km of additional platform length being constructed (that’s c.8 times the length of Brighton Pier and around double the length of the runway at Luton Airport). Major works will be required in Central London with new stations being built at Blackfriars (where the new station will span the river Thames, providing direct National Rail access to both the North and South banks) and London Bridge. Farringdon station too will see big changes with longer platforms, a new footbridge, new station roofing and new concourse facilities for both London Underground and National Rail services. Major works will also be required at Borough and east of London Bridge station to both improve capacity and provide a more streamlined track layout to prevent the delays caused when trains on the busiest lines have to cross each others paths. In all the Thameslink Programme will deliver 50 per cent longer trains across the current Thameslink route (by 2012) New direct services, to new destinations on the Thameslink route (e.g. Cambridge to Gatwick). A reduction in overcrowding on the Underground, with three times as many trains travelling between St Pancras International and Blackfriars every hour (an increase from 8 to up to 24 by 2015). New stations and an end to bottlenecks at Blackfriars (by 2012) and London Bridge (by 2015) New trains across the Thameslink route – an entirely new fleet by 2015 Platform extensions and other improvements at around 50 stations outside of central London. (by 2012)