Crossrail has secured a £1.3bn bailout as its launch date is further postponed.
The delayed Elizabeth Line will receive the loan from the government to allow the railway to be completed by a later date, reportedly late next year or early 2020.
The route had originally been due to open this this week, but the launch date was delayed until August 2019 this summer.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I haven’t hidden my anger and frustration about the Crossrail project being delayed. This has a knock-on consequence of significant additional cost to the project. It has been increasingly clear that the previous Crossrail Ltd leadership painted a far too optimistic picture of the project’s status.
“I have ordered the release of all Crossrail Board minutes in the last five years to provide transparency to Londoners on their decision making, and working with the DfT, brought in a new leadership team.”
When complete and fully operational, the Elizabeth Line will add 10% to central London’s rail capacity. It is estimated that the project could boost the economy by £42bn.
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