Crossrail hits the buffers AGAIN

The opening of London's £18billion Crossrail project has been delayed yet again until the 'first half of 2022', the train line's board admitted today.

The railway, from Berkshire to Essex via central London, was originally expected to open fully in December 2018, but repeated delays have pushed it back.

The central section of Crossrail, running between Paddington and Abbey Wood, will be ready to open in the first half of 2022, its board has said.

The further delay has been partly put down to the coronavirus pandemic, which saw construction paused on March 24 until it restarted on June 15.

The update also confirmed that the construction may need up to £1.1billion more than the funding commitment made in December 2018.

The new Elizabeth Line station at Liverpool Street in London is pictured in August last year

Crossrail trains wait for the line's completion at Old Oak Common in West London in January

The Crossrail network will run from Berkshire and Heathrow to Essex and South East London

Crossrail will link up with the existing Tube network at various points through the capital

Covid-19 is one of the reasons behind the new delay, the team said, with social distancing meaning that a maximum of 2,000 people are now allowed on Crossrail sites, which is less than 50 per cent of the staffing levels before the pandemic.

The project's boss said their 'focus remains on opening the Elizabeth Line as soon as possible' and that they have a 'comprehensive plan' to open the railway.

A Crossrail spokesman said: 'The board's latest assessment, based on the best available programme information right now, is that the central section between Paddington and Abbey Wood will be ready to open in the first half of 2022.'

How will the Elizabeth Line operate? When the central part of the Elizabeth line opens, by the 'first half' of 2022 all going well, it will operate as follows: Paddington (Elizabeth line station) to Abbey Wood via central London

(Elizabeth line station) to via central London Liverpool Street (main line station) to Shenfield

(main line station) to Paddington (main line station) to Heathrow and Reading Following the central section opening, full services across the line from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east, should commence at a later date. Advertisement

The new date comes after the team behind the project said last month that the route would not meet its then-summer 2021 target opening.

The project's boss said their 'focus remains on opening the Elizabeth Line as soon as possible' and that they have a 'comprehensive plan' to open the railway.

Chief executive Mark Wild added: 'Our focus remains on opening the Elizabeth line as soon as possible. Now more than ever Londoners are relying on the capacity and connectivity that the Elizabeth line will bring, and we are doing everything possible to deliver the railway as safely and quickly as we can.

'We have a comprehensive plan to complete the railway and we are striving to commence intensive operational testing for the Elizabeth line, known as Trial Running, at the earliest opportunity.

'Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages and is being completed at a time of great uncertainty due to the risks and potential impacts of further Covid outbreaks.

'We are working tirelessly to complete the remaining infrastructure works so that we can fully test the railway and successfully transition the project as an operational railway to Transport for London.'

A spokesman for the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: 'The Mayor is deeply disappointed that Crossrail's updated schedule suggests that Londoners face a longer wait for the Elizabeth line.

A platform for the new Elizabeth Line at Paddington station in London is pictured last August

The new Elizabeth line departure boards at Canary Wharf station are pictured last August

'He has asked TfL's new commissioner, Andy Byford, to review Crossrail's latest plans - including their estimated additional costs - and to work with the Department for Transport to ensure everything possible is being done to get the central section safely open as quickly as possible.'

Commenting on the latest development, Julian Glover, a former special adviser at the Department of Transport and speechwriter for the prime minister, tweeted: 'Joint government-TfL board overseeing it has become an excuse for buck passing.

'It's good at asking for more money, not in cracking on with opening the line or solving the things making it late. The Mayor's lack of interest hasn't helped either.

'So there needs to be a single chain of command to the guy who's actually going to run the line, TfL's new boss Andy Byford. That's coming but it is way too slow.

'Need it today. He needs to set December 2021 as the date for opening the line. No ifs or wobbles.

'Maybe Bond Street won't be open by then but all the other stations can be. It's 16 months and the line is already built and being tested - mad to say this date can't be met.'