Andy Byford, the TFL commissioner, committed to the opening of the central section of Crossrail, the Elizabeth Line, in the first half of 2022 at a London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee meeting on the 14th January 2022.

He did not rule out calling upon an additional £150m to get the project over the line as achieving the above is his number one priority.

The trial running is 40 per cent complete and is expected to be finished at a good time. Following the trial, will be shadow running in complete configuration (no outstanding works). When challenged on how long that would take, the commissioner said, “As long as it takes.

He went on to say, ”I am obsessed about getting reliability right.”

Critical to meeting the target opening is completing two stations, Canary Wharf and Bond Street. Canary Wharf is expected to be handed over in a few weeks by early February 2022. With several complexities in delivery, Bond Street is now only three months behind the original opening and in time for the first half.

The central section is Paddington to Abbey Wood in the east. Trialling of through running,between east and west, is expected in Quarter three.

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