On 31 August 2018, Crossrail Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL), announced that planned opening of the Elizabeth Line had to be delayed as fit-out work was running late
TfL and the Department for Transport (DfT) have commissioned an independent review of Crossrail’s governance and a separate review on Crossrail’s finance and commercial position.
As an interim measure, DfT has lent the mayor of London £350m to “ensure that full momentum is maintained behind Crossrail”.
London's transport commissioner, Mike Brown, said: "The confirmation of an interim financing package between the government and the mayor of London will enable Crossrail Ltd to continue its construction work and vital testing at pace to open the Elizabeth line to passengers as quickly as possible. The funding will go towards Crossrail Ltd completing the final fit out of the tunnels, work on stations and the extensive safety and reliability testing needed for the new systems.
“We have commissioned independent reviews into Crossrail Ltd's governance and financing to ensure its projections are robust. These reviews are being carried out by KPMG and once this work is finalised a full financing agreement will be developed by the government and mayor of London. Once opened the Elizabeth line will transform travel across London, boosting the economy by billions of pounds and supporting thousands of new jobs and homes in London and the southeast."
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