London and into the Home Counties with a branch to Heathrow Airport. It is Europe's biggest construction project, with a £15 billion projected cost. London is the centre of the National Rail network, with 70 per cent of rail journeys starting or ending in London. Like suburban rail services, regional and inter-city trains depart from several termini around the city centre, linking London with the rest of Britain including Birmingham, Brighton, Reading, Bristol, Cardiff, Derby, Exeter, Sheffield, Southampton, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Cambridge, Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Some international railway services to Continental Europe were operated during the 20th century
London Stansted Airport Villagelink services 5 and 7 connect to many of the nearby villages. Journeys are free of charge within the vicinity of the airport, by reason of a green travel plan instituted by the BAA to reduce staff demands for parking space. Stansted is also the start of the X30 and X10 coach services to Southend-on-Sea and Basildon via Chelmsford and London Southend Airport respectively, operated by First Essex, this route runs hourly 24 hours a day. Stansted is connected to northeast London and Cambridge by the M11 motorway and to Braintree, Colchester and Harwich by the A120, which is dual-carriageway