Full article with thanks to https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/civils/tfl-takeover-of-crossrail-welcomed-21-09-2020/
Transport for London’s imminent takeover of Crossrail’s management has been welcomed by a former chair of the capital’s transport committee.
Caroline Pidgeon welcomed the news, reported on Construction News on Friday, that Crossrail’s board has been dissolved after holding a final meeting on Thursday and TfL aims to take direct control over the project by the end of the month. Chief executive Mark Wild will report directly to transport commissioner Andy Byford, with the future of the other members of the board yet to be outlined.
However, the Liberal Democrat called for more transparency over the project after repeated delays and cost increases on the project.
She said: “These changes could be beneficial and I welcome this initiative by TfL. However if the governance arrangements of Crossrail are to improve, a transformation is still needed in the publication of information.
“The huge delays in putting vital information about the real cost and progress of the project into the public domain has bedevilled the scheme for too many years.”
Conservative candidate for mayor of London Shaun Bailey called on Sadiq Khan to “get a grip” on TfL’s projects and finances.
“Sadiq Khan inherited a Crossrail that was on time and on budget. Now it’s billions of pounds over budget, with no one able to say when it will open. Londoners have the right to an efficient transport network. And it’s the mayor’s responsibility to deliver it.”
A spokesperson for Khan said problems with Crossrail delivery had started to emerge in 2015 under the previous mayor. She added: “Since it became clear in 2018 that Crossrail’s delivery plans were inaccurate, Sadiq has repeatedly made clear the importance of the new Crossrail leadership being fully open and transparent with Londoners about the challenges that remained, some of which have been compounded further by coronavirus.”
The mayor has asked Byford to review Crossrail’s plans and to work with the Department for Transport “to ensure everything possible is being done to get the central section safely open as quickly as possible,” she said.
A Crossrail spokesperson said on Friday that the transfer of Crossrail to TfL had always been planned “as the progamme moves into its final stages”.
The latest estimated completion date given by the project is 2022.
The Crossrail spokesperson added: “Delivery of the Elizabeth line is now in its complex final stages. Crossrail Ltd is working to complete the remaining infrastructure so it can fully test the railway and successfully transition the project as an operational railway to Transport for London.
“The Crossrail board met for the last time in its current form on 17 September and further information on the proposed new governance arrangements will be provided in due course.”
Full article with thanks to https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/civils/tfl-takeover-of-crossrail-welcomed-21-09-2020/