Millions of commuters may be hit as national rail strike looms over job cuts and living costs January 4, 2022 A national rail strike looms this week as one of the leading rail workers’ unions is warning it may urge its members to pause work over job cuts. The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said rail workers faced losing their jobs this year just as the cost of living crisis spirals. The union is calling [...]
Crossrail’s trial operations to begin ahead of opening November 22, 2021 Trial operations on the Crossrail are finally underway ahead of its opening in the first half of 2022, almost three years after the project’s initial deadline. Operations will involve exercises to ensure the project’s safety and reliability, while also testing the timetables. Over the coming months, more than 150 scenarios will be carried out – [...]
Crossrail to open by June 2022, says TfL boss November 16, 2021 Transport for London’s commissioner Andy Byford has announced the Crossrail will be open to the public by June 2022. Speaking at a Greater London Authority’s (GLA) transport committee meeting, Byford said: “I think we’re in a really good place to get this railway open. “We still maintain that opening window between February and June. It [...]
£19bn Crossrail mess: Uncertainty over how loans will be repaid while £150m funding gap looms October 29, 2021 The estimated cost of completing London’s new east-west railway exceeds current available funding by £150m, according to a new report by the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Moreover, Crossrail is facing a “serious” funding gap and there is uncertainty over how loans will be repaid, MPs have warned. The predicted cost of finishing the project [...]
Crossrail to run out of funding before full line opens as cost rises again July 9, 2021 Sadiq Khan is being urged to give assurances that there will be enough money to finish Crossrail after it was revealed that it could cost a further £218m to finish the much-delayed rail project. A new report from the National Audit Office (NAO) found that the controversial new line could cost between £30m and £218m [...]
Lofty Crossrail to Heathrow fares to be capped at standard Tube rates July 6, 2021 Airport passengers using London’s Crossrail will have higher fares which could be capped at the standard rates for the Tube, according to reports. Passengers travelling to Heathrow will be charged a premium rate compared with the same journey on the tube. However, if passengers make other journeys using the Transport for London (TfL) network within [...]
Crossrail under renewed scrutiny as further delays loom June 17, 2021 London politicians have today called for more transparency over the progress of the Crossrail line after a new report into the project suggested further delays could be “difficult to avoid”. The Elizabeth line, which is now scheduled to open in the first half of 2022, has recently begun the trial running of services. But the [...]
First test trains run on Crossrail ahead of 2022 opening May 13, 2021 Initial testing on Crossrail’s Elizabeth Line has now kicked off, with four trains an hour now running on the line. It is the first phase in a series of major trials that must be completed before the much-delayed line opens in the first half of 2022. The firm also said it had handed over the [...]
City’s professional know-how matched with UK construction expertise could be a global titan February 11, 2021 Despite political enthusiasm for ‘Global Britain’, we are missing out on a sizeable slice of a $14 trillion a year worldwide construction market owing to a lack of collaboration between two otherwise successful industries – the built environment sector and financial/advisory services. The built environment and infrastructure sector is one of the unsung heroes of [...]
Crossrail failed to carry out survey work on historic Soho venue despite ‘high risk’ to punters December 16, 2020 Crossrail failed to carry out survey work on a historic cellar bar in Soho despite receiving warnings from its own contractors that weak vaults posed a “high residual risk” to punters. The report, which was carried out in 2016 by consultants WSP and has been seen by City A.M., says that the vaults in the [...]