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London's new Crossrail train line is expected to open more than two years later in 2021, the latest blow to the capital's largest transport project, according to senior executives.
The new delay is expected to be announced after a board meeting next Thursday as part of a number of "potential opening windows" that will be released following a Crossrail board meeting.
The announcement should indicate that it is "likely" that the central portion of the Paddington to Abbey Wood line in south-east London will not be open until spring 2021.
This means that complete trains linking Reading and Heathrow to the west, via Shenfield and Abbey Wood to the east may not be operational until mid-2021 or even 2022, according to one familiar with the plans.
However, Crossrail Ltd, the state-run organization that manages the project, will also say that it will attempt to open it by the end of next year. "Although the odds are not good," said a source close to the Financial Times.
This month, the multi-party public accounts committee also said it was "not convinced" that the line would be open next year or that costs would remain within the new £ 17.6 billion budget. , which rose by £ 2.8 billion, a fifth – from the £ 14.8 billion agreed in 2010.
The BBC first reported additional delays Thursday, citing officials who said train tests and signage were "more difficult than previously thought" and that the final opening would be postponed to spring 2021 in the "worst case".
Crossrail Ltd is seeking to hire 191 people under the leadership of the new Chief Executive Officer, Mark Wild, to carry out the project, which was 841 people in 2016.
It had dissolved before the target opened last December with some of the personnel transferred to Transport for London, who will take over the project once it will be operational.
Crossrail's contractors are also struggling to compete against other major infrastructure projects such as London's new sewer and the HS2 rail line, nearby sources said.
The 118 km Crossrail line was scheduled to open in December 2018, but announced last August that there would be significant delays in the opening of the central section.
None of the 10 new stations along the railway line have been completed, but tests of the new train, signaling systems and stations are very late.
Each Crossrail station has over 50 km of communication cables, 200 CCTV cameras, 66 information displays, 200 radio antennas, 750 loudspeakers and 50 help points, all of which must be fully installed, tested and integrated. said Crossrail.
According to a report by KPMG, the project currently consumes 30 million pounds a week, but its work is made more difficult because of its "low morale" and the lack of definitive deadlines, according to people who are familiar with the issue. situation.
A report from the National Audit Office on the reasons for the delay in Crossrail is expected to be published early next month.
Crossrail said: "London needs the Elizabeth line [Crossrail’s official operating title] completed as quickly as possible and put into service for pbadengers. We are working very hard to finalize our new plan to deliver the opening of the Elizabeth Line as soon as possible and we will provide more details later this month. "
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