Crossrail racks up £1.4bn bailout as overuns delay opening of Elizabeth line

Stretching over 60 miles from Reading in the west to Shenfield in the east, the Elizabeth Line was scheduled to open in December 2018 but was put back in August this year to autumn 2019.

“Since I joined Crossrail Ltd in November I have been reviewing the work still required to complete the core stations and rail infrastructure and begin the critical safety testing,” said Mark Wild, chief executive of Crossrail Ltd. “It is evident that there is a huge amount still to do. Stations are in varying stages of completion and we need time to test the complex railway systems. This means that I cannot at this stage commit to an autumn 2019 opening date. My team and I are working to establish a robust and deliverable schedule in order to give Londoners a credible plan to open the railway.”

A finance package has been agreed between the government and the Mayor of London, the Greater London Authority (GLA), and Transport for London (TfL) to deliver the final stages of the Crossrail project.