Crossrail delayed until March 2021 as bosses admit they have not put the equipment in the tunnels

Leaders of decade-long project now say they have a robust and realistic plan of action

Software to allow trains to run on the new Crossrail line does not yet exist and vital equipment is not in place, five months after the crisis-hit project was meant to have opened, bosses have admitted.

The west-to-east service is intended to create a high-speed link from Heathrow and Reading through central London to Abbey Wood and Shenfield. The first phase will run from Paddington to Abbey Wood.

But even when the project’s central section does open, which could be as late as March 2021, trains will not stop at Bond Street because of design and delivery challenges, executives said.

Crossrail Ltd, part of Transport for London (TfL), insisted that the full line would be operational as soon as possible after that.

The company said on Thursday that four major elements of the project were still not finished: writing and testing software to allow trains to communicate with signalling systems; installing vital station systems; installing the equipment in the tunnels; and test-driving the new trains.

Elizabeth Line trains will begin running in October next year at the earliest, it said. Train and signal software is being built by Bombardier and Siemens.

The admission comes after MPs launched a scathing attack on oversight of Crossrail by TfL and Chris Grayling’s Department for Transport (DfT). The public accounts committee lambasted Mr Grayling’s team for continual shortcomings and said the project had been afflicted by an overriding culture of over-optimism”.

Earlier this month, MPs said it was unacceptable that DfT and Crossrail had not identified root causes of delays and cost increases, and demanded to know what consequences officials had faced for the string of failings.

Crossrail’s original budget was £15bn, but it is thought to have run over by £3bn so far. The company said it had now developed a robust and realistic plan that took full account of exactly what was to be done and how long it would take.

Its chairman, Tony Meggs, said in a statement: “An enhanced governance structure has been put in place to strengthen the Crossrail programme.

“We will be open and transparent about our progress and will be providing Londoners and London businesses with regular updates as we seek to rebuild trust with all our stakeholders.”