Government backs plans for new cross-London rail line

By Emma RumneyLONDON (Reuters) - Britain's government backed a new 30 billion-pound passenger rail project in and around London on Monday but told the capital it will have to provide more up-front funding for it to get off the ground.By connecting Hertfordshire, north of the capital, to Surrey in the south via a number of central London stations, it would complement the 15 billion-pound east-west Crossrail 1, which will be completed by 2019.In a statement on Monday after a meeting with London Ma