So much relies on the next six months. We’ve now got 120 key project milestones, many of which need to be achieved by the end of this year, and we also need to complete testing of the train and signalling system. We’re working hard with our Tier One contractors to help their station delivery teams finish the job safely and as quickly as they can so they move on to other projects and we can integrate the nine new stations with the rest of the railway
The start of Trial Running will be our priority in the first quarter of 2020 – running test trains to a timetable to build reliability and fix any remaining software bugs. Trial Running will enable us to provide more certainty around the central section opening date once we start to fully test the railway. Then we will have more certainty about when the full railway will open – connecting central London to the eastern section to Shenfield in Essex and then, finally, the western section to Reading and Heathrow.
While we acknowledge there’s still so much to do, it’s important to highlight the progress we’ve achieved so far:
- We began our multi-train testing in the tunnels in June with trains running close to each other at higher speeds
- Testing and commissioning activity is taking place at all central section stations except at Bond Street where fit-out and systems installation continues
- Fit-out of the tunnels is almost complete, and very soon we’ll soon begin hand over of the completed shafts and portals
- We’ve got a joint team of senior technical experts from Bombardier, Siemens and Crossrail working together to quickly find solutions to integrating the train and signalling systems
- Fifteen new class 345 trains are in operation with TfL Rail on the eastern and western parts of the route, building reliability and achieving a high standard of performance
- The first nine-car (full-length) train is now in passenger service from Paddington to Hayes & Harlington