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Crossrail opening delayed (opening date not yet known)

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kevin_roche

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There is a lot of information in the paperwork being sent to the London Assembly Transport Committee meeting this week.

https://www.london.gov.uk/moderngov/documents/g6766/Public reports pack Thursday 25-Apr-2019 10.00 Transport Committee.pdf?T=10

Of particular interest to those the following the ETCS signalling issues are the Network Rail plans (page 195):
ETCS Stage A:

ETCS keys for 65 trains have been ordered from Alstom. Delivery date is to be confirmed.

ETCS team awaiting a train testing programme so that it can secure the resources required to support delivery of Heathrow Implementation Agreement 4.

Stage B/C:

Network Rail is progressing a strategy that would see ETCS for Stage B (Heathrow Tunnel Junction to Acton) delivered by December 2020, and Stage C (Acton to Paddington) by December 2022.

Network Rail and its industry partners held a workshop on the 21st February 2019 to understand the qualitive benefits and disadvantages of each available delivery option. Current delivery strategy of delivering Stage B, then Axle Counters, then Stage C, was noted as preferable.
 
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700007

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Crossrail has announced they are aiming for October 2020 to March 2021 opening date for the Central section. In either scenario, no Bond Street for all the meanwhile ...

More on this shortly as it is breaking news.
 
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sharpinf

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Crossrail has announced they are aiming for October 2020 to March 2021 opening date for the Central section. In either scenario, no Bond Street for all the meanwhile ...

More on this shortly as it is breaking news.

Press release at http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/articles/crossrail-ltd-outlines-plan-to-complete-the-elizabeth-line

CROSSRAIL LTD OUTLINES PLAN TO COMPLETE THE ELIZABETH LINE
  • New leadership team outlines new plan to put Crossrail project back on track
  • Robust and realistic plan follows a detailed audit of the programme
  • Due to the complexity of the remaining work, Crossrail Ltd has identified a six-month window for delivery of the central section, with a midpoint at the end of 2020
  • As the programme to complete and test the railway progresses, Crossrail Ltd will be able to provide increasing certainty about when the Elizabeth line will open
A new plan to complete the outstanding works and bring the Elizabeth line into passenger service at the earliest possible date has been developed by the new Crossrail leadership team and agreed by the Crossrail Ltd Board.

Following a detailed audit of the programme, including what went wrong in the past, the new team has produced a robust and realistic plan to put Europe’s most ambitious and complex infrastructure project back on track. The new plan has required identifying and re-sequencing over 100,000 interdependent tasks and takes full account of exactly what is to be done and how long it will take.

As many risks and uncertainties remain in the development and testing of the train and signalling systems, Crossrail Ltd has identified a six-month delivery window with a midpoint at the end of 2020. Crossrail will be making every effort to deliver the service as early as possible.

The central section of the Elizabeth line will open between Paddington and Abbey Wood and link the West End, the City of London, Canary Wharf and southeast London with initially 12 trains per hour during the peak.

It is expected that all stations on the route will open except for Bond Street which is delayed because of design and delivery challenges. Crossrail Ltd is working closely with Costain Skanska Joint Venture to ensure the station is ready to open at the earliest opportunity.

Once the central section opens, full services across the Elizabeth line from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east, will commence as soon as possible.

As the completion work proceeds Crossrail Ltd will be providing Londoners with regular progress reports, and increasingly specific estimates of when the Elizabeth line will open. Crossrail Ltd has put in place a new visual management system to monitor progress by our contractors and their supply chains so that issues are addressed as quickly as possible.

There are four major tasks that must be completed:

  • Build and test the software to integrate the train operating system with three different signalling systems
  • Install and test vital station systems
  • Complete installation of the equipment in the tunnels and test communications systems
And when this is done, trial run the trains over many thousands of miles on the completed railway to shake out any problems and ensure the highest levels of safety and reliability when passenger service begins.

Crossrail expects that the remaining fit-out and systems installation in the stations and tunnels will be completed this year. This will allow the new stations and rail infrastructure to be integrated with the rest of the railway. Crossrail also expects that Bombardier Transportation and Siemens will complete development of the train and signalling software this year allowing the train control system to be fully tested.

The central section works are expected to be delivered within the funding package agreed by the Mayor, Government and Transport for London in December 2018.

Mark Wild, Chief Executive, Crossrail Ltd, said: “I share the frustration of Londoners that the huge benefits of the Elizabeth line are not yet with us. But this plan allows Crossrail Ltd and its contractors to put the project back on track to deliver the Elizabeth line. Crossrail is an immensely complex project and there will be challenges ahead particularly with the testing of the train and signalling systems but the Elizabeth line is going to be incredible for London and really will be worth the wait. This new plan will get us there and allow this fantastic new railway to open around the end of next year.”

Tony Meggs, Chairman, Crossrail Ltd, said: “Both the Crossrail Board and the Crossrail leadership team fully recognise the seriousness of the challenges we face. The Crossrail Board is pleased with the progress by the new Crossrail leadership team to get a grip on the project and pull together a robust and realistic plan to complete the Elizabeth line. An enhanced governance structure has been put in place to strengthen the Crossrail programme. The Crossrail Board will be holding the leadership team to account as they work to complete the railway. 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.”

Everyone involved in the Crossrail project is fully focused on ensuring the Elizabeth line is completed as quickly as possible and brought into service for passengers. At many stations, work is underway to complete the final fit-out and testing of key systems. Each Elizabeth line station has over 50 km of communications cabling, 200 CCTV cameras, 66 information displays, 200 radio antennas, 750 loudspeakers and 50 help points. All this technology needs to be fully installed, tested and integrated.

Dynamic testing of the trains in the tunnels is now underway with intensive work to increase the reliability of the train software to enable trains to successfully operate across the three signalling systems on the Elizabeth line. Trains have been operating at line speed (100 kph / 62 mph) in the central section using the new automatic signalling system and multi-train testing will soon get underway.
 
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It's hard to comprehend that it may be almost another 2 years until just the central section opens (only a limited service too), how did it get to August 2018 for any of this slippage to be public knowledge if it was this far behind? Unbelievable.
 
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LNW-GW Joint

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The remarks about funding being adequate only cover the central (ie underground) section.
I wonder if there are more issues on the surface sections (ie the Network Rail/Heathrow elements), with no firm end date offered?
Giving themselves a six-month window for completion is understandable but still reflects considerable uncertainty about the programme.
And Bond Street must be in real trouble.
 

pacenotes

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We already know the western section station upgrades have been on hold for years now with no new funding coming forward. So I think that is what they are saying.
 

Non Multi

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There's several Crossrail stations west of Central London that are currently in a part-demolished state and have been for several years. I think the plan for one station's new gateline entrance has been quietly shelved. On a more positive note, some of the accessible footbridges are now being assembled at Taplow, and Langley and should be completed within the next year or so.
 

Taunton

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Crossrail Ltd has identified a six-month window for delivery of the central section, with a midpoint at the end of 2020
My local line. Will I live to see it open?

That's a real Sir Humphrey way of saying that they think it is March 2021 without saying the 2021 word itself, so those reading casually will think "next year".

It really has got to the stage now where there needs to be some proper accountability against those who merrily let the project get to this state, and this goes right to the top. Surely The Mayor should be considering his position, having been responsible for appointing such hugely paid klutzes who let it get to this. This is not a political comment, but anyone else at the top of an organisation which had such a cock-up would have been forcibly let go well before now. The Mayor seems completely out of his depth with this.
 

Bald Rick

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My local line. Will I live to see it open?

That's a real Sir Humphrey way of saying that they think it is March 2021 without saying the 2021 word itself, so those reading casually will think "next year".

It really has got to the stage now where there needs to be some proper accountability against those who merrily let the project get to this state, and this goes right to the top. Surely The Mayor should be considering his position, having been responsible for appointing such hugely paid klutzes who let it get to this. This is not a political comment, but anyone else at the top of an organisation which had such a cock-up would have been forcibly let go well before now. The Mayor seems completely out of his depth with this.

Perhaps the previous mayor who made the appointments?
 

700007

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I would think both Mayors to be honest should be held accountable. Yes, Boris did indeed appoint these people and should be held accountable for that but the last three years which were critical to the project were under Sadiq's leadership. It sounds like there is a certain element where Khan had the wool pulled over his eyes by the likes of Mike Brown and former Crossrail chiefs but there's a part where you have to read between the lines and look beyond what is presented in front of you and Khan clearly failed to do that. He took everyone's word for it and didn't bother to properly check that everything was up to scratch. Before the initial delay announcement in August, a lot of insiders who hadn't even worked on the physical construction had heard murmurings for months beforehand that there were serious issues with the project.
 

Meole

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How often does the Mayor actually visit the sites that are behind ? You can't manage a project from a desk !
 

Bald Rick

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I would think both Mayors to be honest should be held accountable. Yes, Boris did indeed appoint these people and should be held accountable for that but the last three years which were critical to the project were under Sadiq's leadership. It sounds like there is a certain element where Khan had the wool pulled over his eyes by the likes of Mike Brown and former Crossrail chiefs but there's a part where you have to read between the lines and look beyond what is presented in front of you and Khan clearly failed to do that. He took everyone's word for it and didn't bother to properly check that everything was up to scratch. Before the initial delay announcement in August, a lot of insiders who hadn't even worked on the physical construction had heard murmurings for months beforehand that there were serious issues with the project.

Well I knew over a year ago! It was obvious to anyone taking an even cursory look at the schedule.
 

Mikey C

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I would think both Mayors to be honest should be held accountable. Yes, Boris did indeed appoint these people and should be held accountable for that but the last three years which were critical to the project were under Sadiq's leadership. It sounds like there is a certain element where Khan had the wool pulled over his eyes by the likes of Mike Brown and former Crossrail chiefs but there's a part where you have to read between the lines and look beyond what is presented in front of you and Khan clearly failed to do that. He took everyone's word for it and didn't bother to properly check that everything was up to scratch. Before the initial delay announcement in August, a lot of insiders who hadn't even worked on the physical construction had heard murmurings for months beforehand that there were serious issues with the project.
If Sadiq had taken action within a year of taking over as Mayor, he could say he was taking action to correct his predecessor's mistakes. Not quite the same, but the blame for the garden bridge lies entirely with Boris, nobody disputes that.

We had him as Mayor for 2 years, when he seemed to believe that everything was all rosy. It's a serious blow to his reputation, as it looks like he's had his eye completely off the ball, or is the sort of person who's easily fooled. This isn't some minor project where the Mayor wouldn't be expected to take a big interest, this is London's flagship project
 

markymark2000

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I know there will be a lot more to it but would a simple solution not be to install points at Liverpool Street Lower Level and focus all staff on Liverpool Street, Whitechapel and the Abbey Wood line? That way, at a bare minimum, you can get Liverpool Street LL - Shenfield and Liverpool Street - Abbey Wood set up. Then when those sections are ready to open, move all staff back into the 'core'. Though it sounds daft leaving some areas with little going on, it focuses all staff onto one area to get it open. When it earns money, the delays won't be so bad. It costs so much in delays as it isn't earning any revenue.
Another benefit to this is Liverpool Street Higher Level then has more breathing space or it allows Greater Anglia to introduce their big improvements.

Likewise at the other end, work at Paddington and then get trains to arrive, reverse into the sidings, go into the other platform and then head back out to Heathrow. It allows GWR to increase their services with the freed up platform capacity.

The issue with Crossrail is that it's such a big project and they are trying to open too much at once. Staggared openings generally work a lot better and give you a lot more press coverage. It's in everyones interest to sort Liverpool Street and Paddington to help other operators and it can be a kind of 'test' for when it all opens
 

Bald Rick

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I know there will be a lot more to it but would a simple solution not be to install points at Liverpool Street Lower Level and focus all staff on Liverpool Street, Whitechapel and the Abbey Wood line? That way, at a bare minimum, you can get Liverpool Street LL - Shenfield and Liverpool Street - Abbey Wood set up. Then when those sections are ready to open, move all staff back into the 'core'. Though it sounds daft leaving some areas with little going on, it focuses all staff onto one area to get it open. When it earns money, the delays won't be so bad. It costs so much in delays as it isn't earning any revenue.
Another benefit to this is Liverpool Street Higher Level then has more breathing space or it allows Greater Anglia to introduce their big improvements.

Likewise at the other end, work at Paddington and then get trains to arrive, reverse into the sidings, go into the other platform and then head back out to Heathrow. It allows GWR to increase their services with the freed up platform capacity.

The issue with Crossrail is that it's such a big project and they are trying to open too much at once. Staggared openings generally work a lot better and give you a lot more press coverage. It's in everyones interest to sort Liverpool Street and Paddington to help other operators and it can be a kind of 'test' for when it all opens

When you say “install points”, you actually mean “dig a new 200metre long crossover cavern under the City of London, and then install points, overhead line equipment and change the signalling”.
 

markymark2000

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When you say “install points”, you actually mean “dig a new 200metre long crossover cavern under the City of London, and then install points, overhead line equipment and change the signalling”.
Is it not done near stations so the lines are in one big tunnel. I know that sounds like a daft way to explain it but I can't think of the proper terminology. Most underground (not tube) stations have it so there becomes one large tunnel just before and after stations before the lines then go off on their tunnel.

Though it would be extra cost, it would be less cost than then constant delaying as this could go on forever. It also gives extra flexibility for in the future if works need doing, they can turn trains early at Liverpool Street.
 

markymark2000

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Infact, there are points at Whitechapel aren't there. They could start Abbey Wood to Whitechapel (possible single line working to Liverpool Street but this would be a reduced frequency). Though this doesn't have the same ring to it, it allows soft openings of Crossrail and at least gets people used to the system partly. Any revenue is better than nothing. You can then focus all staff and resources onto the other central stations.
 

Bald Rick

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Infact, there are points at Whitechapel aren't there. They could start Abbey Wood to Whitechapel (possible single line working to Liverpool Street but this would be a reduced frequency). Though this doesn't have the same ring to it, it allows soft openings of Crossrail and at least gets people used to the system partly. Any revenue is better than nothing. You can then focus all staff and resources onto the other central stations.

They have the revenue on the east side already from Shenfield to Liv St. Abbey Eood to Whitechapel would have little revenue, and it also prevents through testing of trains across the whole line which is a critical item.

And no, the tunnels are single bore all the way, except in the junction caverns.
 

hwl

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They have the revenue on the east side already from Shenfield to Liv St. Abbey Eood to Whitechapel would have little revenue, and it also prevents through testing of trains across the whole line which is a critical item.

And no, the tunnels are single bore all the way, except in the junction caverns.
Agreed they need to keep passenger services out of the core to focus on testing. The next big revenue step is Paddington to Reading which is why the are focusing on it as stage 5a for this December, the modelling shows the core opening mostly canabalises existing tube passengers for the first 12 to 18 months of the core being open, hence while passengers might be keen on core opening, TfL don't need it ASAP for revenue.
 

hwl

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Is it not done near stations so the lines are in one big tunnel. I know that sounds like a daft way to explain it but I can't think of the proper terminology. Most underground (not tube) stations have it so there becomes one large tunnel just before and after stations before the lines then go off on their tunnel.

Though it would be extra cost, it would be less cost than then constant delaying as this could go on forever. It also gives extra flexibility for in the future if works need doing, they can turn trains early at Liverpool Street.

No, the points are away from stations in separate caverns.

In the core area there are 2 Crossover caverns:
a) west of whitechapel with facing points, so useless for Liverpool Street Low Level turnback as it could only support 6tph but the functionality to run trains in passenger service bang road isn't part of the initial signalling spec.
b) Holborn parallel to the north of the central line platforms with trailing points but it can only support about 8tph

It is worth noting that the fall back plan last autumn before the full range of issues became apparent for the LST high level P16-18 works was 12tph from Stratford going down the tunnel straight to LST low level trains clearing out then running ECS to Westbourne Park to reverse before heading back to LST low level to pick up eastbound passnegers.

The core signalling as it is for £50.6m is theoretically a bargain
 

Ianno87

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No, the points are away from stations in separate caverns.

In the core area there are 2 Crossover caverns:
a) west of whitechapel with facing points, so useless for Liverpool Street Low Level turnback as it could only support 6tph but the functionality to run trains in passenger service bang road isn't part of the initial signalling spec.
b) Holborn parallel to the north of the central line platforms with trailing points but it can only support about 8tph

It is worth noting that the fall back plan last autumn before the full range of issues became apparent for the LST high level P16-18 works was 12tph from Stratford going down the tunnel straight to LST low level trains clearing out then running ECS to Westbourne Park to reverse before heading back to LST low level to pick up eastbound passnegers.

The core signalling as it is for £50.6m is theoretically a bargain

And even if a) or b) were technically a go-er, there's then the problem of how 6 or 8 trains per hour's worth of passengers from Abbey Wood/Canary Wharf get distributed onwards after having been deposited at Whitechapel or Liverpool Street...
 

bramling

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Well I knew over a year ago! It was obvious to anyone taking an even cursory look at the schedule.

It was obvious to anyone just taking a look at the stations from outside. I remember having a look at Bond Street from the outside in the spring and thinking “no way in a million years that’s going to be open in December”.
 

bramling

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I would think both Mayors to be honest should be held accountable. Yes, Boris did indeed appoint these people and should be held accountable for that but the last three years which were critical to the project were under Sadiq's leadership. It sounds like there is a certain element where Khan had the wool pulled over his eyes by the likes of Mike Brown and former Crossrail chiefs but there's a part where you have to read between the lines and look beyond what is presented in front of you and Khan clearly failed to do that. He took everyone's word for it and didn't bother to properly check that everything was up to scratch. Before the initial delay announcement in August, a lot of insiders who hadn't even worked on the physical construction had heard murmurings for months beforehand that there were serious issues with the project.

A pretty good summary in my view. Mike Brown in particular has been very quiet on the whole subject, which as commissioner for transport I find quite poor. But then Mike Brown’s whole career has been built on smoke and mirrors.
 

hwl

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A pretty good summary in my view. Mike Brown in particular has been very quiet on the whole subject, which as commissioner for transport I find quite poor. But then Mike Brown’s whole career has been built on smoke and mirrors.
He seems to keep very quiet about the "successful" T5 opening while he was Heathrow MD for some reason... ;)
 

hwl

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And even if a) or b) were technically a go-er, there's then the problem of how 6 or 8 trains per hour's worth of passengers from Abbey Wood/Canary Wharf get distributed onwards after having been deposited at Whitechapel or Liverpool Street...
Exactly Whitechapel and Liverpool Street need their existing interchanges relieving not overloading further!
 

markymark2000

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Agreed they need to keep passenger services out of the core to focus on testing. The next big revenue step is Paddington to Reading which is why the are focusing on it as stage 5a for this December, the modelling shows the core opening mostly canabalises existing tube passengers for the first 12 to 18 months of the core being open, hence while passengers might be keen on core opening, TfL don't need it ASAP for revenue.
They do kind of need the revenue if they are going to keep delaying the rest of the core. The project is already over budget so it will all help. The quicker it's opened, the quicker the money comes in. It is quite easy to test alongside existing trains. Night testing would have no trains and during the day, they can work them inbetween normal trains. Much like what happens in the rest of the UK when new trains are being tested.
No, the points are away from stations in separate caverns.

In the core area there are 2 Crossover caverns:
a) west of whitechapel with facing points, so useless for Liverpool Street Low Level turnback as it could only support 6tph but the functionality to run trains in passenger service bang road isn't part of the initial signalling spec.
b) Holborn parallel to the north of the central line platforms with trailing points but it can only support about 8tph

It is worth noting that the fall back plan last autumn before the full range of issues became apparent for the LST high level P16-18 works was 12tph from Stratford going down the tunnel straight to LST low level trains clearing out then running ECS to Westbourne Park to reverse before heading back to LST low level to pick up eastbound passnegers.

The core signalling as it is for £50.6m is theoretically a bargain
And even if a) or b) were technically a go-er, there's then the problem of how 6 or 8 trains per hour's worth of passengers from Abbey Wood/Canary Wharf get distributed onwards after having been deposited at Whitechapel or Liverpool Street...
Rather than startup the Abbey Wood line then, you can still divert the existing Shenfield services. Off peak, the frequency being 6tph, it would work turning at LST Low Level. Peak time you would have to split between low and high level but that is already part of the plan for XR. This still provides the benefit of less services into Liverpool Street for GA To make improvements to services.
 

rd749249

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Talk on the testing trains are that an Abbey Wood > Canary Wharf service could be a viable start. Crossovers at Custom House would certainly help facilitate this, leaving the main core to get its stuff done. Canary Wharf Station is in better shape than most though Woolwich seems to be less so. There are other logistical plus-points for this including a dedicated west depot start point at Westbourne Park, with an eastern start point at Pudding Mill Lane where some current weekend work takes place. It's always been a bug bear of mine that getting to Canary Wharf from the south-east is difficult enough but that utilising the Abbey Wood branch would most certainly yield significant numbers.
 
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