Crossrail delayed still further – and is running £1billion short of cash

By Lachlan Leeming, local democracy reporter

 

Crossrail is unlikely to be finished before 2022 and could require an extra £1.1billion to be completed.

South-east London commutres have been dealt another public transport blow, as the board revealed the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood is unlikely to be ready for up to two years.

The rail link was originally set to open in December 2018, but will now be more than three years late.

The £14.8 billion budget has ballooned to as much as £18.7 billion at this latest estimate – a 26 per cent overspend.

Once completed the Elizabeth line will link Heathrow and Reading, Berkshire, in the west and Shenfield, Essex, in the east to central and south east London.

The line will boost rail capacity in the capital by 10 per cent – vital to avoid further overcrowding on the network as London’s population grows.

At the peak of the Covid-19 outbreak Crossrail construction sites shut down for almost three months – and with social distancing still in place, less than half of on site workers have been able to return to work.

In a statement released on Friday, Crossrail said: “The Board’s latest assessment, based on the best available programme information right now, is that the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood will be ready to open in the first half of 2022”.

The board also revealed the latest cost estimate predicted the project could blow out by up to £1.1b more than the financing package agreed in December 2018.

That figure would be £450m more than the upper end of the range announced in November 2019.

Greenwich Council leader Dan Thorpe posted on social media shortly after the announcement saying the announcement was “deeply disappointing and incredibly frustrating”, adding that he hoped the plans would be reviewed as soon as possible to get the railway open as quickly as possible.

Known as the Elizabeth Line, it was initially due to open in December 2018.

It’s the latest blow for the under-connected south-east.

It comes weeks after TfL acknowledged an extension of the DLR to Thamesmead was in doubt, while the Bakerloo Line extension into Lewisham faces similar issues.

Mark Wild, Crossrail Ltd’s chief executive, said: “Our focus remains on opening the Elizabeth line as soon as possible”.

“Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages and is being completed at a time of great uncertainty due to the risk and potential impacts of further Covid outbreaks,” he said.

“We are working tirelessly to complete the remaining infrastructure works so that we can fully test the railway and successfully transition the project as an operational railway to Transport for London.”

When completed, the Elizabeth line will stretch more than 60 miles from Reading and Heathrow in the west through central tunnels across to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.

The new railway will stop at 41 accessible stations, and is expected to serve around 200 million people each year.