Crossrail delay
Extra funding secured, but the revised autumn 2019 opening date is scrapped with no definite date set.
AN additional £1.3 billion of funding has been secured for Crossrail, but new Chief Executive Mark Wild says the revised autumn 2019 opening date will not now be met - and only when a “robust and deliverable schedule” has been established will one be announced.
In a statement issued by Transport for London, Wild said: “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.
“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.”
The Bombardier Class 345 electric multiple units, which are being funded by TfL, have also to be fully tested and certified for the central section of the route, which uses metro-style communications-based train control signalling.
The additional funding has been secured by the Mayor of London, Greater London Authority (GLA) and TfL.
The GLA will borrow up to £1.3bn from the Department for Transport (DfT), and will repay the loan from the existing Business Rate Supplement and Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy. The DfT and TfL contributed £300 million in July 2018. In addition, the GLA will also provide a £100m cash contribution.
It follows the emerging findings of the KPMG review into Crossrail Ltd’s finances, which indicates that the likely capital cost impact of the delay to the project (announced in August this year, RAIL 861) could be between £1.6bn and £2bn. After the earlier £300m cash injection, this leaves between £1.3bn and £1.7bn to complete the project.
With final costs of Crossrail still to be confirmed, a contingency arrangement of up to £750m has been agreed between TfL and the Government in the form of a loan facility. The combined financing deal replaces the £350m interim financing package offered by the Government in October.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling have nominated Tony Meggs as the new chairman of Crossrail Ltd. If ratified by the Crossrail Ltd board, he will replace Sir Terry Morgan, who resigned on December 5 (see separate story).
Meggs will step down from his role as chief executive of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, and the board will be strengthened with the nomination of former MP and Minister for London Nick Raynsford as deputy chairman.
Meanwhile, Khan has ordered the release of all Crossrail board