Crossrail to be finally completed by March 2021

Crossrail will be completed by October 2020 at the earliest – but without Bond Street Station.

Project chiefs have confirmed a revised timetable for the delayed scheme which was originally due to open in December 2018.

The new leadership team has outlined a six month “delivery window” for completion because “many risks and uncertainties remain.”

The earliest date is October 2020 and the latest March 2021.

But Bond Street station will not open by then because of “design and delivery challenges.”

Crossrail said it is working closely with Bond Street contractor Costain Skanska Joint Venture to “ensure the station is ready to open at the earliest opportunity.”

Crossrail said it has “produced a robust and realistic plan to put Europe’s most ambitious and complex infrastructure project back on track following a detailed audit of the programme, including what went wrong in the past.”

The new plan has required identifying and re-sequencing over 100,000 interdependent tasks.

Remaining fit-out work and systems installation in the stations and tunnels will be completed this year while train operating software and signalling testing will take much longer.

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.”