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Sadiq Khan's claim to have been kept in the dark about the need to postpone the opening of Crossrail was today thrown into doubt by the scheme’s chairman.

Sir Terry Morgan insisted today the Mayor was told in July that the royal opening of the crisis-hit rail line would have to be delayed until next year.

The project has soared about £1 billion over budget to £15.8 billion since the summer, and was contractually required to open on Sunday.

Now it is not expected to open before next autumn. The Queen was expected to unveil it soon after December 9 as the line has been renamed Elizabeth in her honour.

In pictures: the progress of Crossrail project 36 show all In pictures: the progress of Crossrail project 1/36 Farringdon Outside Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 2/36 Farringdon Overhead view of Farringdon eastern ticket hall Crossrail 3/36 Farringdon Art installed at Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 4/36 Farringdon Inside the new Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 5/36 Farringdon Central concourse at Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 6/36 Farringdon Inside Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 7/36 Paddington Paddington station Crossrail 8/36 Paddington Paddington Crossrail station's cloud index artwork is installed Crossrail 9/36 Paddington Builders install cloud index artwork at Paddington Crossrail Crossrail 10/36 Paddington Cloud index artwork at Paddington station Crossrail 11/36 Paddington Pre-cast brickwork at Paddington Crossrail station Crossrail 12/36 Canary Wharf Outside the new Canary Wharf Crossrail station Crossrail 13/36 Canary Wharf Public roof garden above Canary Wharf Crossrail station 14/36 Canary Wharf Escalators at the new Canary Wharf Crossrail station Crossrail 15/36 Canary Wharf Escalators lead down to the platform at Canary Wharf Crossrail 16/36 Bond Street Inside the new Bond Street Crossrail station Crossrail 17/36 Bond Street Glass fibre reinforced concrete panels at Bond Street Crossrail station Crossrail 18/36 Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road station ariel view Crossrail 19/36 Tottenham Court Road Escalators at Tottenham Court Road Crossrail Crossrail 20/36 Tottenham Court Road Panels at Tottenham Court Road station with Soho street map Crossrail 21/36 Tottenham Court Road Escalators at Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station Crossrail 22/36 Tottenham Court Road Central concourse at Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station Crossrail 23/36 Tottenham Court Road Architectural brickwork at Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station Jack Hobhouse 24/36 Royal Victoria Dock Royal Victoria Dock portal head house Crossrail 25/36 Whitechapel Steel being installed at Whitechapel Crossrail station Crossrail 26/36 Whitechapel Ariel view of Whitechapel Crossrail station Crossrail 27/36 North Woolwich North Woolwich portal head house Crossrail 28/36 North Woolwich North Woolwich portal head house Crossrail 29/36 Woolwich Overhead view of Woolwich Crossrail station Crossrail 30/36 Woolwich Escalators being installed at Woolwich Crossrail station Crossrail 31/36 Woolwich Escalators at Woolwich Crossrail station Crossrail 32/36 Thames Tunnel Crossrail through the Thames Tunnel Crossrail 33/36 Liverpool Street Views at Liverpool Street Crossrail station Crossrail 34/36 Royal Oak Crossrail racks approaching Royal Oak portal Crossrail 35/36 Stepney Green Crossrail tracks installed at Stepney Green cavern Crossrail 36/36 Connaught Tunnel Crossrail tracks through Connaught Tunnel Crossrail 1/36 Farringdon Outside Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 2/36 Farringdon Overhead view of Farringdon eastern ticket hall Crossrail 3/36 Farringdon Art installed at Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 4/36 Farringdon Inside the new Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 5/36 Farringdon Central concourse at Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 6/36 Farringdon Inside Farringdon Crossrail station Crossrail 7/36 Paddington Paddington station Crossrail 8/36 Paddington Paddington Crossrail station's cloud index artwork is installed Crossrail 9/36 Paddington Builders install cloud index artwork at Paddington Crossrail Crossrail 10/36 Paddington Cloud index artwork at Paddington station Crossrail 11/36 Paddington Pre-cast brickwork at Paddington Crossrail station Crossrail 12/36 Canary Wharf Outside the new Canary Wharf Crossrail station Crossrail 13/36 Canary Wharf Public roof garden above Canary Wharf Crossrail station 14/36 Canary Wharf Escalators at the new Canary Wharf Crossrail station Crossrail 15/36 Canary Wharf Escalators lead down to the platform at Canary Wharf Crossrail 16/36 Bond Street Inside the new Bond Street Crossrail station Crossrail 17/36 Bond Street Glass fibre reinforced concrete panels at Bond Street Crossrail station Crossrail 18/36 Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road station ariel view Crossrail 19/36 Tottenham Court Road Escalators at Tottenham Court Road Crossrail Crossrail 20/36 Tottenham Court Road Panels at Tottenham Court Road station with Soho street map Crossrail 21/36 Tottenham Court Road Escalators at Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station Crossrail 22/36 Tottenham Court Road Central concourse at Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station Crossrail 23/36 Tottenham Court Road Architectural brickwork at Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station Jack Hobhouse 24/36 Royal Victoria Dock Royal Victoria Dock portal head house Crossrail 25/36 Whitechapel Steel being installed at Whitechapel Crossrail station Crossrail 26/36 Whitechapel Ariel view of Whitechapel Crossrail station Crossrail 27/36 North Woolwich North Woolwich portal head house Crossrail 28/36 North Woolwich North Woolwich portal head house Crossrail 29/36 Woolwich Overhead view of Woolwich Crossrail station Crossrail 30/36 Woolwich Escalators being installed at Woolwich Crossrail station Crossrail 31/36 Woolwich Escalators at Woolwich Crossrail station Crossrail 32/36 Thames Tunnel Crossrail through the Thames Tunnel Crossrail 33/36 Liverpool Street Views at Liverpool Street Crossrail station Crossrail 34/36 Royal Oak Crossrail racks approaching Royal Oak portal Crossrail 35/36 Stepney Green Crossrail tracks installed at Stepney Green cavern Crossrail 36/36 Connaught Tunnel Crossrail tracks through Connaught Tunnel Crossrail

The change in schedule was announced on August 31. Mr Khan told the London Assembly a week later that he had only known on August 29 about the need to move the opening date.

Sir Terry, who is expected to be sacked today as chairman of Crossrail and the high-speed rail project HS2, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’m in absolutely no doubt that the Mayor was told on July 26 that it was no longer feasible to deliver Crossrail in 2018.”

He said problems with the new trains were behind the delay, which he said were the Mayor’s responsibility. They have to use three signalling systems on different parts of the line, which stretches from Shenfield and Abbey Wood to Heathrow and Reading.

Sir Terry explained the cost consequences of the delay were not known until the end of August, adding that he expected Crossrail to need a further taxpayer bailout.

City Hall sources said today that TfL commissioner Mike Brown and deputy mayor for transport Heidi Alexander met Sir Terry in September to advise him that the Mayor had “lost confidence in him because the information he was giving Sadiq was so inaccurate”.

Timetable improvements which would have helped rail passengers to and from Paddington over the Christmas period have been postponed again — and will not come into force until next year. Great Western has been told not to introduce the planned timetable changes on Sunday amid overunning engineering and fears of more chaos.

A TfL spokesman, said: “Crossrail Ltd is responsible for the completion of the new railway, including integrating signalling and railway systems. The trains are already successfully serving parts of the Elizabeth line route in the east and the west. Their procurement has had no bearing on the fact that the completion of the line, including tunnel fit out, the new stations and a range of safety critical railway systems was not completed in time by Crossrail Ltd for a December opening. Work on stations and other vital infrastructure is progressing, but remains at varying degrees of completion, as reported by Crossrail Ltd to the TfL Board last month.”