‘Unrealistic’ Crossrail bosses to blame for delays Uncategorized by railsistem@gmail.com - June 5, 20190 Massive cost increases and lengthy delays to the Crossrail project were caused by the chosen contractual model, a compressed schedule and the absence of a realistic plan for completion, according to the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO’s Completing Crossrail report, published on May 3, found that Crossrail Ltd was not in possession of a sufficiently detailed delivery plan until late 2018, by which time it was already clear the project would be severely delayed and well over budget. Crossrail Class 345 units are currently limited to Liverpool St-Shenfield and Paddington-Hayes &Harlington, but are expected to serve Reading from December 2019. Here, No. 345007 passes RoyalOak on the approach to Paddington on May 7. Photo: Chris Milner. Design changes and delays, requiring contractors to be on sites longer than expected, added around £2.5billion to costs between 2013 and 2018. Discover the FULL story in the brand new June issue, on sale now! Click here to get hold of yours. Enjoy more of The Railway Magazine reading every month. Click here to subscribe. Share this: Comments comments Share this: Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Related Share on Facebook Share Share on TwitterTweet Share on Google Plus Share Share on Pinterest Share Share on LinkedIn Share Share on Digg Share Send email Mail