Crossrail opening delayed to end of 2021

The east-west line is now almost three years behind schedule

Crossrail engineers inspect completed tracks (PA)

The opening of Crossrail has been delayed to autumn 2021, according to the Transport for London (TfL) Commissioner.

The Elizabeth line, as the east-west link will be known when it finally opens, was due to start carrying commuters in December 2018.

In November, Mark Wild, the chief executive of Crossrail, said that the line would open “as soon as practically possible in 2021”.

But today TfL Commissioner, Mike Brown, told the London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee that the central section of the new line, between Paddington and Abbey Wood in south east London, was now expected to open at the end of 2021.

Through trains to Heathrow airport will begin in December 2022, although Crossrail trains from Paddington to the UK’s busiest airport could start sooner.

Trains from Shenfield in Essex through central London could start running in May 2022.

“We’ve looked at a delay until the later stages of 2021, in terms of our business planning assumption,” he said, calling the new delay “pragmatic”, reports Reuters.

A TfL spokesperson told The Independent: “The Crossrail team continues to make progress completing the railway and is moving forward with the complex testing of the signalling and train systems so that the railway can be handed over safely and reliably for passenger service.

“As Crossrail Ltd previously announced, the Elizabeth line will open as soon as practically possible in 2021.

“As part of our annual business planning process, we have made some prudent assumptions including that the central section of the railway could open in autumn 2021, but continue to support Crossrail Ltd in delivering the railway as soon as possible. Crossrail Ltd continue to refine their delivery schedule and will provide an update in the coming weeks.”

Costs for the much-delayed Crossrail are heading towards £20bn, more than one third more than the original estimate of £14.8bn.

The 73-mile-long line will run from Reading in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, through central London.