Comment on Crossrail delay from Lilian Greenwood MP, Chair of Transport Select Committee

Commenting on today's announcement that the opening of Crossrail will be delayed, Lilian Greenwood MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee, said: 

"Passengers have already waited a long time for the benefits that Crossrail will bring and will be deeply disappointed by today's news that the opening of the line will be delayed [until December 2019].

“Clearly the timetable has slipped and it is best to spend time ensuring it can open successfully rather than rushing to bring it into service with a greater risk of it not working properly. TfL and the DfT are both project sponsors and a significant amount of public money has been spent on Crossrail.

“It's vital that both take steps to understand what has led to these delays so that lessons can be learned and applied in other large and complex transport infrastructure projects."