Crossrail’s flaws

There are no words strong enough to convey my disappointment at the present state of Crossrail. Regretfully, it has become a liability.

Of course, this is not a personal failure of the many hundreds of people involved in its construction. I sincerely take my hat off to them for their efforts to date, and share with them their dismay at what is happening.

Nevertheless, while I stand firmly behind the decision to build Crossrail, I have found myself wondering if it has been flawed from the start.

Firstly, there has always been confusion as to what it was for. Was it to be an additional London-bound suburban relief line, or was it to be a cross-capital route to add capacity for the greater South East? My guess is that is has become a poor mash of the two.

Secondly, fourth-rail electrification would have better suited the central London section than overhead lines, and dualvoltage AC/DC electric multiple units could easily have made the switch where needed.

Furthermore, having three distinct signalling and control protocols for different sections of the line is like trying to fit Babushka dolls into one another backwards.

However, I don’t wish to make a bad situation worse by griping. Instead, we need to re-group our determination and see Crossrail through. Because failure to complete this project will have serious knock-on effects for our confidence and ability to deliver any of the many improvements, openings and reopenings we would wish to see on our railways.

Failure is not an option. Don Broad, Dartford