The opening of Crossrail has been delayed yet again until the first half of 2022 with at least another £450 million added to the total bill, it was announced today.
In yet another “deeply disappointing” setback, the team responsible for the 60-mile east-west route across London said social-distancing rules meant only half the normal number of workers could be on site.
Crossrail bosses warned in July that the previous summer 2021 scheduled opening date for the central section of the Elizabeth line route from Paddington to Abbey Wood would not be met.
But today’s confirmation that it could be up to a year later before passengers can board trains deals a shattering blow to hopes for reviving the struggling central London economy after lockdown.
The vast extra capacity provided by the route, which will serve major destinations such as Bond Street and Farringdon, would have made it far easier for nervous commuters to travel safely into the West End and the City without having to brave packed carriages.
Latest developments with Crossrail: August 2019 - In pictures
This morning’s announcement came after a board meeting of Crossrail Ltd yesterday when the latest estimated completion dates and costs were agreed. It could mean that trains will not be able to travel along the whole length of Crossrail from Berkshire to Essex until as late as May 2023. Chief executive Mark Wild said: “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 risks and potential impacts of further Covid outbreaks.
“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.”
The latest delay is also a huge setback for the already strained finances of TfL, which have been devastated by the massive slump in passenger revenue since the start of the lockdown.
A spokesman for Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “The Mayor is deeply disappointed that Crossrail’s updated schedule suggests that Londoners face a longer wait for the Elizabeth line. He has asked TfL’s commissioner, Andy Byford, to review Crossrail’s latest plans, including their estimated additional costs, and to work with the Department for Transport to ensure everything possible is being done to get the central section safely open as quickly as possible.”
Shaun Bailey, Conservative Party mayoral candidate, said: “Crossrail has been delayed, again, to 2022 and at an extra cost to taxpayers of nearly £5billion in overruns and lost revenue.
“Londoners will have to wait longer on overcrowded trains while our city’s economic recovery after Covid will be slower and weaker as a result of having this necessary infrastructure delayed.”
The total bill for the project — originally planned to be completed by December 2018 — is now expected to exceed £18 billion.
In its statement today, Crossrail said it will need an extra £1.1 billion on top of the £2.15 billion package agreed with TfL in December 2018. That is at least an extra £450 million more than estimates of extra financing that were drawn up in November last year.
As well as the pandemic — which has limited the number of workers on site to 2,000 at any one time — progress has been slowed down by “lower than planned” productivity in the completion of shafts and portals, and the “monumental” complexity of the 10 central stations. Adam Tyndall, from London First, said: “It is unsurprising that coronavirus has caused further delays, but people should be reassured that when completed, it will bring transformational change to the capital. The delay is disappointing but it must not distract from the need for a fair and sustainable long-term funding solution for TfL. Without public transport, the capital’s economy will not thrive.”
Mr Byford said the announcement was “very disappointing”. He added: “I will now work with my team and the DfT to review Crossrail’s plans. I have been very clear that I am committed to getting this railway open safely and reliably as quickly as possible.”