TfL released over 100 documents on December 10 relating to Crossrail including Board minutes dating back to 2013 following the agreement of a funding and financing deal with the Government and the GLA.
The documents are a serious indictment of Crossrail Ltd’s failed governance, showing that the Mayor and TfL were forced to commission an independent report to learn the true scale of delays and cost overruns on the project, instead of being able to rely on information provided by the Chairman.
The material clearly demonstrates that the Mayor and TfL have been fully transparent about what they knew and when.
The documents show that Crossrail Ltd reported growing cost and schedule pressures on the project to both the Mayor and TfL during 2018. They show that, at a meeting with the Mayor and senior TfL executives on 26 July, Crossrail briefed that the official opening date for the project, 9 December 2018, was at “high risk”.
They also show that, in the subsequent weekly report to the Mayor on 7 August, Crossrail Ltd’s forecast date for the opening of the project remained 9 December 2018.
The documents are clear that the Mayor and TfL were not informed by Crossrail Ltd that the central section of the project would definitely be delayed to Autumn 2019 until this decision was taken by the Crossrail Board on 29 August. This was subsequently confirmed by Sir Terry Morgan, who resigned as Chair of Crossrail on 5 December, at a meeting of the London Assembly Transport Committee on 12 September and by Simon Wright, the former Chief Executive of Crossrail, at a London Assembly Plenary on 6 September.
In his evidence to the Transport Committee Sir Terry said: “We have always had to separate fact from concerns. The fact is that we did not have a formal position to take until 29 August. We did brief informally about concerns that we had at the Board meeting and indeed in briefings with the Mayor, but the Mayor did not have any information of the sort that we provided on 30 August any day earlier than that date.”
Had Crossrail concluded at the end of July that a delivery date could not be met, then under the Project Development Agreement governing Crossrail, they would have been obliged to issue promptly an ‘Adverse Event Notice’ to TfL and the Department for Transport (as joint sponsors). No such Notice was issued by Crossrail until 30 August.
Following concerns raised about cost and scheduling pressures at the TfL Board meeting on 25 July, the Mayor asked TfL to commission (with DfT) independent reviews of the project’s construction and testing schedule as he had significant concerns over transparency on the project and the effectiveness of Crossrail Ltd’s governance. These reviews were carried out by Ian Rannachan and John Boss, and have been published by TfL on 10 December.
Two further independent reviews into the project’s cost projections and governance were also commissioned by the joint sponsors. These reviews have been conducted by KPMG and are nearing completion. They will be published in due course.
All independent reviews will be shared with the National Audit Office, which is conducting an investigation into Crossrail. Prior to the NAO review being confirmed, the Mayor had written to the Comptroller General Sir Amyas Morse to support an investigation and to offer the full assistance of TfL and the GLA.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “When complete, the Elizabeth Line will transform travel across London and the South East, with new state-of-the-art trains taking millions of people more quickly across London. That’s why it’s so crucial we have secured this funding agreement with the Government – who are joint sponsors of the project – that will allow Crossrail Ltd to get the railway up and running.
“I remain deeply angry and frustrated at the delays and cost overrun, and these documents are a serious indictment of Crossrail Ltd’s governance. It is clear that as joint sponsors, TfL and the Department for Transport should have been told much more, far sooner by Crossrail.
“That’s exactly why I asked TfL to commission an independent review of the project’s governance and why I asked the NAO to investigate what happened.
“I’m pleased that these documents confirm that I have been fully transparent about what I knew when, and am hopeful the funding deal with Government will now allow us to get the Elizabeth Line open as quickly as possible so that Londoners feel all the benefits.”
Mike Brown, London’s Transport Commissioner, said: “The opening of the Elizabeth line will be the single largest addition to our transport network in a generation and every effort is being made to deliver it safely and reliably for London as soon as possible. It is right that the public have oversight of documents relating to the progress of the Crossrail project and we are committed to ensuring future Crossrail Board minutes and other key documents are published.”
The Mayor and the Secretary of State for Transport also confirmed on 10 December they have nominated Tony Meggs as the new Chair of Crossrail Ltd, and if ratified by the Crossrail Ltd Board he will replace Sir Terry Morgan who resigned on 5 December.
The Crossrail Ltd Board will be further strengthened with the nomination of former MP Nick Raynsford as Deputy Chair. Nick served as Minister for London on two occasions between 1997 and 2003.
Crossrail Ltd has its own governance arrangements, which were established under the project delivery agreements entered into by TfL and Government in 2008. These agreements afforded Crossrail Ltd a very high degree of autonomy in terms of its day to day delivery of the project and superseded any ‘control’ TfL might have over Crossrail as a subsidiary company.