UPDATE FOLLOWING CROSSRAIL BOARD – AUGUST 2020
Friday 21st August 2020
By Crossrail Ltd press office
* Everyone on Crossrail and across the supply chain is working tirelessly to deliver the Elizabeth line for London as soon as possible
* Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages with a comprehensive plan to complete the railway focused on completing the remaining construction and systems integration followed by intensive operational testing
* From the start of intensive testing it will then take a period of time to fully test the Elizabeth line before it can open for passenger service
The Crossrail Ltd Board yesterday met and considered the latest update from the leadership team concerning progress to complete the Elizabeth line. This follows an update after the July Board where it was announced that the central section could not open in summer 2021.
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.
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. As work to complete the railway progresses, there may be opportunity to review and bring forward the opening of the central section, subject to progress during the intensive operational testing phase.
The latest cost estimate presented to the Board shows that the cost to complete the Crossrail project could be up to £1.1bn above the Financing Package agreed in December 2018 (£450m more than the upper end of the range announced in November 2019). Work is ongoing to finalise the cost estimates.
Crossrail is planning to start intensive operational testing, known as Trial Running, at the earliest opportunity in 2021. From the start of Trial Running it will then take a period of time to fully test the Elizabeth line before it can open for passenger service. This includes a final phase known as Trial Operations involving people being invited onto trains and stations to test real-time service scenarios to ensure the readiness of the railway.
Following the opening of the central section, full services across the Elizabeth line from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east will be introduced. The introduction of full services will be aligned with the National Rail timetable change which occurs twice a year in May and December.
Crossrail and Sponsors are currently reviewing Crossrail's governance arrangements to make sure the right decisions are taken as the project moves towards completion, and that it successfully transitions to TfL as soon as possible.
A programme of this scale and complexity was already challenging, with pressures on the schedule before COVID-19 became a factor; the impact of COVID-19 has made the existing pressures more acute. The schedule delay is due to three main factors:
Routeway: we have had lower than planned productivity in the final completion and handover of the shafts and portals. The shafts and portals form a critical part of the routeway and contain many of the complex operating systems for the Elizabeth line. We have now completed handover of eight of the ten shafts and portals to TfL and will complete handover of the final two this autumn.
Stations: as more detailed plans for the completion and handover of the ten central section stations have developed, we have revised our previous schedule assumptions about the pace at which these large and complex stations can be handed over to TfL. The completion and handover of all the stations in the central section is a monumental task - in our updated plan we have phased the transfer of stations to take account the scale of this undertaking.
COVID-19: Covid has further exacerbated the schedule pressures due to a pause of physical activity on sites during lockdown to keep the workforce safe and significant constraints on ongoing work and productivity due to the reduced numbers that can work on site to meet strict social distancing requirements. We now have a maximum of around 2,000 people on our sites, less than 50 per cent of our pre-Covid complement.
Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, good progress continues to be made with completing the remaining construction works, with much of this work coming to an end along with software testing for the signalling and train systems. Progress during the last six months includes all central section stations, except Bond Street, now certified as ready to support Trial Running; eight of ten shafts and portals completed and handed over to the operator; handover of the first central section station, Custom House, to TfL; the introduction of the first full-length Class 345 train in passenger service between Paddington and Heathrow and a viable signalling software product available for Trial Running.
To help recover some of the lost time, Crossrail is undertaking a period of intensive construction activity during August and September to complete the remaining construction works in the routeway for Trial Running. The construction blockade is progressing well and achieving targeted levels of productivity. Following completion of the blockade in September, Crossrail will commence testing of the next evolution of the signalling software, helping to further build operational reliability. Once software testing completes later this year, Crossrail will then begin an enabling phase for Trial Running with testing in the tunnels undertaken with an increased number of trains. This will provide an opportunity to test how well the railway systems work in operational-like situations and will be undertaken as the extensive safety case to the Office of Rail and Road to commence Trial Running is finalised.
Mark Wild, Chief Executive, Crossrail Ltd, said: “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 risk 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.”
Crossrail is one of the UK’s most complex infrastructure projects, comprised of millions of separate elements, all of which must work together reliably to ensure the successful operation of the railway and the safety of passengers who will use it every day. Much of the remaining work involves hooking up, integrating, testing and certifying the completed infrastructure and railway systems along with the finalisation of the extensive safety case to the Office of Rail and Road who will give the go-ahead to commence Trial Running.
Ends
For media enquiries – Peter MacLennan, 07841 230976 / Andy Day, 07710 852966
Information for Journalist:
Trial Running marks a key point in the project’s transition to an operational railway and is a critical step forward in making possible the opening of passenger services between Paddington and Abbey Wood. Trial Running will see multiple trains operating in the tunnels to fully test the timetable and build reliability while the final works to the stations are completed. This includes a final phase known as Trial Operations to test real-time service scenarios to ensure the readiness of the railway.
When the central section of the Elizabeth line opens the railway will operate as follows:
Paddington (Elizabeth line station) to Abbey Wood via central London
Liverpool Street (mainline station) to Shenfield
Paddington (mainline station) to Heathrow and Reading
Following the central section opening, full services across the Elizabeth line from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east, will be introduced. The introduction of full services will be aligned with National Rail timetable changes in May and December each year.
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THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014.
Transport for London (TfL)
21 August 2020
Crossrail opening timetable and cost forecast update
On 23 July 2020 Transport for London ("TfL") announced that following the Crossrail Limited (“CRL”) Board meeting held earlier that day, CRL had advised that the opening of the central section of the Elizabeth line would not occur during summer 2021 and that the cost to complete the Crossrail project was expected to be higher than previously announced on 8 November 2019.
CRL has continued to work on a plan to drive the Crossrail project to completion and, although some details are still to be finalised, has provided an initial proposal to its sponsors (TfL and the Department for Transport (“DfT”)) that indicates the central section of the Elizabeth line opening during the first half of 2022. CRL’s proposal is not a confirmed opening window and remains subject to review and validation by TfL and DfT as sponsors of the Crossrail project.
The current £2.15bn financing package for the Crossrail project was agreed between the DfT, the Greater London Authority and TfL in December 2018 (the "Financing Package"). CRL has continued to assess the potential range of costs associated with the proposed opening window and the CRL Board has advised that, based on its latest proposal, the cost to complete the Crossrail project is currently expected to be up to £1.1bn above the Financing Package. CRL will continue to review the cost schedule and update its sponsors as appropriate.
TfL and DfT are in discussion regarding how funding of the additional costs will be resolved, while the Financing Package remains in place. The delay in the opening of the Elizabeth line will have a negative impact on TfL’s revenues. These are as yet unquantified but will be considered as part of TfL’s wider financial planning activities.
TfL also remains in constructive discussions with Government about how the impact of the COVID-19 virus on TfL's finances will be managed.
For further information, please contact:
Transport for London
5 Endeavour Square
London E20 1JN
Email:
[email protected]
www.crossrail.co.uk
