Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member, commenting on the announcement that Crossrail is projected to cost £400 to £650 million more than the funding already committed to the project, and with its expected opening date shifting further to sometime in 2021, said:
“For far too long Crossrail Limited has made key decisions behind closed doors.
“Crossrail reports directly to both the Secretary of State for Transport and the Mayor of London. Sadly both have failed to hold Crossrail to account and to their budget. What have they found now that is increasing the costs even more?
“The further delays to the opening of Crossrail and increasing costs are appalling news for Londoners. The delay creates huge issues for many businesses that have made investment decisions based on its original opening date of December 2018. The delay in Crossrail opening will also put back further investment in London’s transport network and create further havoc to TfL’s finances.”
“This also damages the hopes of Crossrail 2 getting started in the next decade”.
You can read more about Crossrail's issues at the Engineering & Technology website.