London’s Crossrail project is expected to launch in "summer 2021", the company revealed today.
The high-speed train and Tube link will connect the outer western edges of the capital to the outer east. First to open will be the central section, between Paddington and Abbey Wood; with the other sections, from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield in the east, coming into service by mid-2022.
The beleaguered west-east rail link, which was originally due to open in December 2018, will be known as the Elizabeth line when trains start along the route.
Today's announcement is marginally more optimistic than comments made by Transport for London Commissioner Mike Brown at a London Assembly budget and performance committee meeting earlier this week.
Brown suggested the business was planning for part of the line to open in autumn 2021, pushing full completion of the project to three years behind schedule.
However, Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild said today: "Elizabeth line services through central London will commence in summer 2021 but we are aiming to open the railway as soon as we can."
What is the Elizabeth line?
It has been billed as the capital's biggest and most important transport upgrade since the expansion of the Tube network over 100 years ago and promises to change the lives of millions of Londoners and commuters.
The route will pass through 37 stations, running a total of 73 miles, from Reading and Heathrow airport in the west through central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east.
More than 1.4 billion Tube journeys were made in 2018/2019, according to TfL's annual report. It is hoped that the new service will ease the burden on the network while also catering for a London population that’s growing by 100,000 a year.
It's thought more than 200 million passengers will use the Elizabeth line each year.
Nine new stations are being built as part of the project, at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, Custom House and Woolwich.
An existing station at Abbey Wood has been redeveloped for Crossrail.
Elizabeth line delays and costs
Just three months before the anticipated opening ceremony the first of the delays was announced, with the most recent of these declaring that the line would open sometime next year.
Now, Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild says the central section will open in "summer 2021", with full service beginning mid-2022.
Earlier this week, at a London Assembly budget and performance committee meeting, member Caroline Pidgeon tweeted that TfL is working on the assumption that Crossrail Ltd could deliver the central section of the line in autumn 2021.
Costs are now expected to go to £650 million over budget, taking the total to £18.25 billion which is more than £2 billion over the original budget allocated to the Crossrail project.
"The Elizabeth line will be the single most significant new public transport infrastructure in London for decades," said Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in his annual report, published in July 2019, "I was frustrated and angry at the delay announced by Crossrail Ltd in August 2018."
"Millions of Londoners had been looking forward to the opening of the Elizabeth line through central London at the end of 2018, and the new income from the line was core in TfL’s business planning."
Opening dates and key journey times
At least part of the Elizabeth line will open in 2021, according to Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild.
Central Section: expected to launch in summer 2021
Trains will start from a new Elizabeth line station at Paddington and go through to Abbey Wood, a route that passes through main employment hubs such as Liverpool Street and Canary Wharf.
Example journey times:
Paddington to Canary Wharf will take 17 minutes
Bond Street to Liverpool Street will take seven minutes
Woolwich to Farringdon will take 14 minutes
The east and west sections will open in later stages, thought to be six months apart.
East section: expected to launch in spring 2022
This section will run from Liverpool Street mainline station to Shenfield in Essex, passing through eastern areas such as Stratford and Romford.
Example journey times:
Romford to Liverpool Street will take 27 minutes
Stratford to Bond Street will take 15 minutes
West section: expected to launch in spring 2022
This route will begin at Paddington mainline station, splitting just after Hayes & Harlington, with one branch going to Maidenhead and Reading and the other to Heathrow airport terminals.
Example journey times:
Tottenham Court Road to Ealing Broadway will take 13 minutes
Paddington to Slough will take 26 minutes