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 Southend Airport adjacent to the airport entrance opened on 1 October 2012; owned by the Stobart Group it has the only rooftop restaurant in Essex. London Southend has been voted the best airport in Britain for three consecutive years by consumer group "Which?" in August 2013, August 2014, and again in September 2015. Southend Airport handles mainly scheduled passenger, charter, cargo and business flights, with some pilot training (both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter) and private aircraft flying. The airport is run by London Southend Airport Co Ltd, which employs over 150 people directly. Due to expansion, there were over 500 more people