TfL says aim is for London rail link to open ‘as soon as practically possible in 2021’

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

Crossrail will not open until at least 2021, incurring a further cost overrun that will take the total price of the London rail link to more than £18bn, Transport for London (TfL) has announced.

The latest assessment for the opening of the central section has ruled out late 2020 and the aim is for Crossrail to open “as soon as practically possible in 2021”, the capital’s transport authority said. TfL had previously said the Elizabeth line, as the service will be called, was unlikely to start running before 2021 but had kept an autumn 2020 opening in its plans.

The admission means that key direct services such as from Canary Wharf to Heathrow airport will almost certainly not run until at least 2022.

The latest delay was caused by the need for more time to develop signalling software and to get safety approvals for the railway.

Timeline Crossrail - two decades of delays and rising costs Show Hide The study into the possible London East West route is published. Cross London Rail Links Limited is set up as a joint venture between the Strategic Rail Authority and Transport for London (TFL). Public consultation on the preferred route is held. The government announces the go-ahead for Crossrail. Four years later, and after further public consultation, the Crossrail Hybrid Bill finally passes through parliament. Construction starts. National Audit Office declares that the Crossrail programme is on schedule. The extension of the route to Reading is announced. Tunnelling work is declared finished. TFL takes over the running of the Liverpool Street to Shenfield mainline services which will form the eastern part of the route. It is announced that the route will officially be called the Elizabeth Line when it opens. The first tests of the new trains are delayed. The first of the new trains enter service between Liverpool Street and Shenfield. Crossrail is forced to reveal that it is running 20% over budget, but says it will still open by the end of the year. Tfl starts running services from Paddington to Heathrow, which will form part of the western end of the final Crossrail service. Government approves additional funding, increasing the total budget from £14.8bn to £15.4bn. Crossrail announces that there will be a year delay in opening, with services through the tunnelled London section expected to open in autumn 2019. Further delays and a rise in costs to £18bn are announced - with the aim for Crossrail to open “as soon as practically possible in 2021”. Yet another delay is announced, as TfL say a temporary pause in construction and ensuing slowdown due to Covid-19 distancing requirements has only partially contributed to another cost overrun of £450m. The line will not now open before 2022.

The cost forecast for the central section of the line has risen to about £15.36bn – £400m more than the funding committed under a financing package agreed with the government. “Further modelling scenarios” suggest higher levels of risk to the project that would cost an extra £650m, TfL said.

Crossrail is Britain’s biggest infrastructure project in decades. The total cost was previously estimated at £17.6bn but has risen to as much as £18.25bn, from an initial budget of £14.8bn.

UK railways cannot cope with climate crisis, says rail boss Read more

TfL said it had agreed with the Department for Transport that the financing package would stay in place and was talking to the department about how to cover the extra costs.

“TfL has been advised by Crossrail Ltd that their latest assessment is that the opening of the central section will not occur in 2020, which was the first part of the previously declared opening window,” TfL said. “The Elizabeth line will open as soon as practically possible in 2021.”

Crossrail was due to open in December 2018 but has been beset by delays and rising costs. The National Audit Office has blamed the debacle on management clinging to an unrealistic opening date instead of dealing with problems that appeared as early as 2015.

Mark Wild, the chief executive of Crossrail, said: “We are doing everything we can to complete the Elizabeth line as quickly as we can but there are no shortcuts to delivering this hugely complex railway. The Elizabeth line must be completed to the highest safety and quality standards.”

Changes to design and schedules increased costs on most of the project’s 36 main contracts. The costs of civil engineering works at Whitechapel station alone, as of December 2018, were £659m – six times the amount originally budgeted and more than double the estimate in 2015.

London politicians and business groups reacted with dismay. Caroline Pidgeon, a Liberal Democrat assembly member, said it was “appalling news for Londoners” and said both the mayor and the transport secretary had failed to hold Crossrail to account. She said the delay would also “put back further investment in London’s transport network and create further havoc to TfL’s finances. This also damages the hopes of Crossrail 2 getting started in the next decade.”

Business group London First said it was “very disappointing”. Its chief executive, Jasmine Whitbread, said: “Efforts must be redoubled to ensure that the railway opens as soon as practically possible and that we learn the lessons for future projects.”

Crossrail is on track for one impending milestone, with the full western branch out to Reading from Paddington due to come into service under TfL Rail on 15 December.