The Assembly’s transport committee says ‘forensic focus’ on attention to detail will be needed from Transport for London and the Mayor if the Elizabeth Line is to be delivered to its latest budget and timescale.

The project was originally due to open in December 2018 but setbacks mean it will not start operating beneath the capital until the first half of 2022. The London Assembly’s report comes after new governance arrangements transferred responsibility for the project to Transport for London and City Hall.

“Now that Crossrail has been handed over to the Mayor and TfL to deliver, it is vital that they adopt a ‘Sherlock style’ forensic focus to make sure no aspect of delivering the project on time and on budget is missed,” said transport committee chair Alison Moore. But the report says it is not yet clear whether the new governance structure will promote a more proactive approach to risk management.

“Covid-19 has understandably put increased financial and staff pressures on Crossrail opening the Elizabeth Line,” added Dr Moore. “However, there are aspects to delivering Crossrail, such as supporting employees’ workloads and better forecasting project delays, that can contribute to delivering as promised.

“When the lockdowns are over and London starts to return to some form of normality, it is imperative that the Elizabeth Line is up and running as soon as possible so that the economic benefits to Londoners and London can be realised.”

The committee says it is ‘crucial’ for a clearer overview of the project’s timeline and key milestones – taking into account likely Covid disruption – to be shared.  

It also urges TfL to prioritise support for staff in areas of the project where there are the most significant resource pressures, and calls for a comprehensive ‘lessons learned’ exercise to be undertaken by next month to inform the new governance structure.

“There will be complexities and challenges in the final phase of the project,” the report says. “It is key, therefore, that the transport committee continues to seek to understand and scrutinise the management and delivery of the project for Londoners, by holding TfL to account in its new role and ensuring that past mistakes are not repeated.”

London's Transport Commissioner Andy Byford said: “I welcome the London Assembly’s recognition of the importance of the Crossrail project and can assure everyone that my focus remains on safely opening the Elizabeth Line as soon as possible.

“There have been many challenges with delivering the railway and I am confident lessons are being learned and applied in these complex final stages of delivery. The Coronavirus pandemic has obviously had some impact on the project and ways of working, and Crossrail has responded to this by ensuring sites remain a safe place to work. We will of course continue to ensure the London Assembly is fully updated on progress of the Elizabeth Line, which is so vital for London and beyond.”

The London Assembly report comes after the House of Commons’ Public Accounts Committee accused central Government of a ‘perennial inability to manage and deliver projects on time and budget’ in a recent report.

The committee gave the Treasury six months to detail what it is doing to ensure that the private and public sectors have the capacity to deliver on the Government’s promised rise in infrastructure investment.

(Photograph: Crossrail)