The Department for Transport (DfT) has brought in Magic Circle firm Linklaters to advise on the government's flagship Crossrail project.

As part of the mandate, which is worth up to £350,000, the firm will provide legal advice to the Crossrail sponsor team over a period of 18 months, according to contract documents published by the government.

The firm will be expected to advise the DfT on matters relating to a £1.3 billion, 10-year loan given by the department to the Greater London Authority to fund Crossrail in December 2018, the documents show.

The Linklaters team, which is being headed up by energy and infrastructure partner Fiona Hobbs, will also be involved in writing and reviewing financial contracts between the DfT and the other main public authorities involved in the project.

The Crossrail contract follows closely behind a mandate that was awarded to Norton Rose Fulbright last month, as part of which Norton Rose would provide legal advice to the DfT in its role as Network Rail's sole shareholder.

Both contracts were awarded to the firms after call-offs from the government's multi-million pound rail legal services panel, which Law.com International's U.K. arm Legal Week reported was in the early stages of a review last week.