£1.1b bailout needed to prevent Crossrail grinding to halt, say bosses

By Lachlan Leeming, Local Democracy Reporter

The construction of London’s major Crossrail project could grind to a halt without a £1.1b support package from the Government, with transport bosses warning funding for the scheme was becoming an “increasingly critical issue”.

A document tabled at a Transport for London (TfL) finance committee painted an alarming picture for the project, with the firm behind its construction at risk of collapsing if a financial handout isn’t secured.

Any halt to the project would be bad news for South-east London – with the long-awaited connection to Abbey Wood among the stations yet to be opened on the line.

Among the revelations are that Crossrail Limited, the firm building the city-spanning project, needs £1.1b in funding to complete the scheme, after work froze during the coronavirus pandemic earlier this year.

The document states the funding is becoming an “increasingly critical issue” because it will have soon spent all £14.964b in its current funding envelope.

“At this point, the project will be no longer be able to make financial commitments and will be forced to shut down,” the document states.

“This would have catastrophic consequences for the project’s progress, resulting in a significant, and a potentially permanent, loss of critical resources, significant claims and lengthy delays to completion of the project.”