Crossrail has seen an increase in “high potential near misses” on site as it moves from construction activities to the testing and commissioning phase, Transport for London (TfL) documents have revealed.

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Papers released in advance of a Transport for London Programmes and Investment Committee meeting next week conclude that while the project had seen a “positive reduction in injuries on site”, there has been an increase in "high potential near misses".

High potential events are defined to be any incident or near miss that could, in other circumstances, have realistically resulted in one or more fatality.

In response to the increase TfL said it was taking the matter “very seriously” and was assessing what further measures could be put in place to reduce the risk of further incidents.

In addition, the transport operator said it had carried out a "stepping up week" in the first week of June to “highlight the importance of safe procedures and operations in completing the Elizabeth line” and said the “critical importance of safety to every part of the job was demonstrated throughout the week as every site across the programme hosted special events”.

The opening date for the line, which was meant to have been completed in December last year but delayed due to construction not being complete, was announced in April as October 2020 at the earliest to March 2021 at the latest.

Testing of the systems was first carried out in February 2018, several months later than planned, but failed as the systems being tested were simply were not complete enough to carry out the work. Dynamic testing restarted again in January after construction and fit-out activity in the tunnels had progressed sufficiently.

In the latest project update, TfL concludes that following the achievement of tier one substantial demobilisation (TOSD) at Stepney Green shaft on 5 June, 19 of the 22 TOSD milestones had now been achieved.

Close headway multi-train testing in the tunnels has now also started.

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