by Kyle Molyneux | Fri 08 Nov 2019
London Crossrail delayed – again
The Chief Executive of Crossrail Ltd has admitted more delays are inevitable for the London project and that costs will rise by up to £650 more than forecast.
In a statement to the Crossrail Board, Mark Wild said, “A key focus during 2019 has been finalising the stations, tunnels, portals and shafts. By the end of the year, Custom House, Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road stations will be complete and the project is on track to finish fit-out of the tunnels in January. The central section will be substantially complete by the end of the first quarter in 2020, except for Bond Street and Whitechapel stations where work will continue.
“The two critical paths for the project remain software development for the signalling and train systems, and the complex assurance and handover process for the railway; both involve safety certification for the Elizabeth line. These must be done to the highest quality standards to ensure reliability of the railway from day one of passenger service.”
Wild confirmed the central section of Crossrail will not be completed in 2020 as hoped, but the so-called Elizabeth line should open at some point in 2021. The Chief Executive for Crossrail also revealed that the project’s costs will be between £400m to £650m more than the figure agreed by the London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the Government and Transport for London last December.
Construction of the new 73-mile railway across London began in 2009, and so far over 120m working hours have been completed on the project, in the process facilitating more than 1,000 apprenticeships. All the permanent track of the new Elizabeth line is in place and testing got underway in 2018. Watch the video below to see how the railway was installed.
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