THE UK Government will hand another £825 million to London's delayed and over-budget Crossrail project, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced.

The Cabinet minister said he is “committed to getting Crossrail delivered”.

Writing on Twitter, he claimed the loan is “a fair deal for taxpayers across the UK”.

The money will “get the project up and running, and ensuring we continue to #BuildBackBetter across the whole country”, Shapps said.

Construction on Crossrail, a high-speed railway which will go under central London, began in 2009 and was due to open in 2018. 

But an update from Crossrail Ltd at the end of August said the opening of the railway, which will be called the Elizabeth line, was now not expected until the first half of 2022.

Transport for London (TfL) and the Government had previously agreed a funding package totalling £17.8 billion.