This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Transport for London is to borrow £350m from the Department for Transport, as delays to the £15bn Crossrail project leave it facing a serious funding shortfall, prompting criticism from the Conservatives of the mayor of London’s financial management.

The DfT will provide the money to the mayor, Sadiq Khan, on a short-term basis, with the interest to be paid out of his budget.

Talks are ongoing about the terms of the short-term loan, including the rate of interest that will determine the ultimate cost to Londoners of borrowing from the government.

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TfL, which has a deficit of around £1bn, needs the cash to replace revenue it thought would be flowing into its coffers by now from passengers using Crossrail.

The service, which has been named the Elizabeth line, was due to open this year, providing a high-speed east-west link running between Shenfield, Stratford and Abbey Wood through central London to Reading and Heathrow.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. Photograph: Michael Bowles/REX/Shutterstock

However, in August it was announced that the launch of Crossrail would be pushed back to autumn 2019, after a series of setbacks caused delays and led to the injection of an extra £600m, after it ran over budget.

Forecast income from Crossrail was intended to fund a fare freeze introduced by Khan on certain journeys, a decision which has already come in for criticism due to the strain it placed on cash-strapped TfL’s finances.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Crossrail engineers walking alongside tracks. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Paul Scully, the Conservative party’s vice-chairman for London, said: “This is emblematic of Sadiq Khan’s complete mismanagement of TfL’s finances, which he is in charge of.

“It beggars belief that on the day the government has had to bail him out, he is off grandstanding in Brussels,” he said, in reference to a meeting between Khan and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier on Friday.

Scully added: “Sadiq Khan should concentrate on his day job and urgently get a grip of transport projects and soaring violent crime in our capital.”

Khan said the loan “will allow Crossrail to continue their construction work and the testing process.”

“An independent review into Crossrail’s commercial practices, cost projections and governance is already well underway, and that will help us understand the exact implications of the project overrunning for both project sponsors – Transport for London and the Department for Transport.

“Some very challenging work remains to be completed, but we will continue to work alongside the government to deliver this important piece of infrastructure, and we will continue to keep the public informed of our progress towards its completion.

“When open, the Elizabeth line will be a world-class railway that makes London proud.”