Why has Crossrail been delayed?

Although the rail minister Jo Johnson said last month that the project was 93% complete, Crossrail has admitted it ran out of time to adequately test the Elizabeth line trains across central London.

Contractors have missed deadlines to fit out the tracks and other infrastructure in the central tunnels, and Crossrail say more time is needed to develop the railway systems software.

Unofficially, insiders have spoken of major issues reconciling the three different signalling systems. One particular incident, an electrical explosion in east London last November, took months to resolve and postponed testing.

Unions, which say Crossrail’s problems were the worst kept secret in the construction industry, have told of workers referring to the scheme as the “hokey cokey” line, after they were told to put things in and take them out; fitting out parts of stations and then being told they had been wrongly designed.

Will it meet the new deadline?

Now that the specific date of December 2018 will not be met, the latest schedule is a relatively vague target of autumn 2019. But some remain sceptical.

Critics such as Andrew Adonis have pointed to the departure of the scheme’s leaders, the chairman, Terry Morgan, and the chief executive, Andrew Wolstenholme, before its delivery, and questioned whether it has had the necessary oversight, with a year’s delay announced barely three months before the planned royal opening.

Terry Morgan has left Crossrail to go to HS2. Photograph: Andrew Fox/The Guardian

Although the central tunnels are a relatively self-contained project, there have also been issues and delays to station upgrades and other work on outer sections of the line, where Elizabeth line trains now operated by Transport for London run on Network Rail tracks. With multiple rail projects having run over budget or hit delays, and finances under pressure, TfL and the government – who injected another £600m this summer – will be reluctant to throw more resources at further problems.

What does it mean for passengers, and London?

A boost of 10% to capacity on the London Underground would have been very welcome for travellers, certainly those on the Central line, which most closely tracks the route. Many commuters who bought houses in outer suburbs with the promise of quick connections to the City and Canary Wharf may be particularly frustrated.

But it could have more serious implications for TfL, which lost its central government grant and has been under severe strain. Crossrail revenues were a key plank of a business plan to erase TfL’s deficit, with the mayor, Sadiq Khan, having frozen fares in the capital. A year’s delay could spell hundreds of millions of pounds in lost revenue, and result in other fares rising.

Retailers in the West End, who have contributed through higher rates while major shopping areas have been disrupted by construction, will also worry that the promised rise in footfall will not materialise.

What does it mean for Crossrail 2 and HS2?



The chances of funding being released soon for Crossrail 2, which London and the National Infrastructure Commission say should be a priority, will surely be diminished. Meanwhile, opponents of HS2, who have long maintained the high-speed rail scheme’s budget will exceed £55bn, will doubtless point to the record of their new chairman, Morgan, who will be coming from Crossrail where the on-time and on-budget promise has proved hollow.