More than £1bn has been shaved off the projected cost of Crossrail in a bid to ratchet up pressure on the Treasury to approve a funding plan for the long-delayed scheme.
Douglas Oakervee, chief executive of Cross London Rail Links, the company responsible for the east-west London rail link, has ordered a full-scale review to seek to maximise cost savings at every state of the project.
It is thought that the review could slash billions off the estimated funding by reconvening station layouts, driving down procurement costs, using more modern tunnelling and construction methods, and slashing contingencies by producing a more certain masterplan.
