Crossrail/Elizabeth Line. From construction to operation - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[MVR S&T]

Wish our current PM would get on with her current project...

[eXPassenger]

Wish our current PM would get on with her current project...

But any methodology requires:

• A clear, concise definition of the requirements
• Clear responsibilities
• Identify risks and mitigating factors
• etc

There is no way any of this was provided so the project is doomed to crash.

[SandTEngineer]

NAO Report into overspend etc. etc. issued today: https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Completing-Crossrail.pdf

[grahame]

Mark Wild, the new Crossrail CEO^▸ (Chief Executive Officer), was on LBC this morning being questioned by Mr. Ferrari. He just confirmed, as far as possible, the amended implementation timetable and explained that the two primary issues were signalling integration & building Bond Street interchange. But I think we already knew that.

From Building

Wild said: “The reasons for the Bond Street delay are quite interesting actually and they are mostly that the tunnelling was a year late at Bond Street, so Bond Street is a year behind every other station because of the tunnelling back in 2014.

“The top priority at Bond Street is to get the subterranean areas in a position they can support the train rather than everybody waiting to get the train going because Bond Street isn’t quite ready and that’s why an intervention is needed at Bond Street.”

Wild said while he was not certain when Bond Street would open, he was confident the delay would not extend indefinitely.

He said: “It’s quite uncertain, but it wouldn’t be many months after the opening of stage three we are just not certain at the moment, but we will become certain.

[Trowres]

And now for something completely different similar:

http://cphpost.dk/news/further-delays-are-likely-to-metro-city-ring-opening.html

The new Metro City Ring was originally supposed to have opened in December 2018. That was postponed to the summer of 2019.

Now Metroselskabet, the company responsible for running and constructing the Metro, has just announced further delays could be on the cards.

This time it is because a number of the key targets in the building phase have not been met. There is a “lack of documentation for a significant number of tests, along with the physical work at the stations that should have been finished”, the company writes.

[MVR S&T]

Well making a train work does not seem to be easy for some:

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17615945.summer-opening-derailed-for-poole-park-miniature-railway/

And:

https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/17606397.noddy-train-investigation-likely-to-last-all-summer/

[martyjon]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio 4 News reporting Crossrail is employing 479 drivers on a salary of up to £59,000 with no train services to drive.

[grahame]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio 4 News reporting Crossrail is employing 479 drivers on a salary of up to £59,000 with no train services to drive.

Also in Daily Mail

Revealed: Crossrail pays 500 drivers £25million a year... despite the train line not opening until 2021!
Crossrail has employed 479 drivers at a £25million-a-year cost to the taxpayer
But the rail infrastructure project will not be fully open for another two years yet
Some of the train drivers employed by Crossrail are now working to test trains
The majority are working on the project’s partially open tracks on city outskirts

Only to be expected?   With a fleet of trains waiting to run on the line, it's natural that there was a fleet of drivers on hand to operate them;  just like trains, they take time to provide - you can't want into your local House of Fraser / Debenhams / Woolworths / Maplin / Marks and Spencer .... and pick them off the shelf just before they're needed

[grahame]

Diamond Geezer's Blog has been running even longer than the Coffee Shop and last week he looked back at the history of Crossrail slippages ... ((here))

In 2004 I wrote..."2012: Crossrail (optimistic view); 2013: Crossrail (pessimistic view)"

etc ...

[Bob_Blakey]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio 4 News reporting Crossrail is employing 479 drivers on a salary of up to £59,000 with no train services to drive.

In his LBC interview of 26th April Mark Wild said that the drivers were being used for both testing and on the Paddington-Hayes/Heathrow & Liverpool Street-Shenfield services.

One of the parties telling porkies?

[TaplowGreen]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio 4 News reporting Crossrail is employing 479 drivers on a salary of up to £59,000 with no train services to drive.

Also in Daily Mail

Revealed: Crossrail pays 500 drivers £25million a year... despite the train line not opening until 2021!
Crossrail has employed 479 drivers at a £25million-a-year cost to the taxpayer
But the rail infrastructure project will not be fully open for another two years yet
Some of the train drivers employed by Crossrail are now working to test trains
The majority are working on the project’s partially open tracks on city outskirts

Only to be expected?   With a fleet of trains waiting to run on the line, it's natural that there was a fleet of drivers on hand to operate them;  just like trains, they take time to provide - you can't want into your local House of Fraser / Debenhams / Woolworths / Maplin / Marks and Spencer .... and pick them off the shelf just before they're needed

Unless it's me that's missing something obvious, I think the context of the story is that had Crossrail not been running years behind schedule, the drivers would not be lying (somewhat) idle for so long at such expense?

[eightf48544]

In his LBC interview of 26th April Mark Wild said that the drivers were being used for both testing and on the Paddington-Hayes/Heathrow & Liverpool Street-Shenfield services.

One of the parties telling porkies?

Yes and No. 345s are running the services mentioned plus  out on testing and driver training runs,  several past my house every day, it's just there aren't 479 driving  turns.

[GBM]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio 4 News reporting Crossrail is employing 479 drivers on a salary of up to £59,000 with no train services to drive.

It would have been good if FGW^▸ (First Great Western) had all or most of their IET^▸ (Intercity Express Train) drivers up and ready.  But, of course, there we no IET's ready for training.  Chicken and egg for them I guess.

[SandTEngineer]

Further contracts let for GWML^▸ (Great Western Main Line) stations: http://www.infrastructure-intelligence.com/article/may-2019/network-rail-announces-new-contracts-crossrail-project-1

[Red Squirrel]

Unless it's me that's missing something obvious, I think the context of the story is that had Crossrail not been running years behind schedule, the drivers would not be lying (somewhat) idle for so long at such expense?

Looking on the bright side, the project task labelled 'Employ some drivers' appears to have been completed on time...

Presumably at least some of them will be required to do the testing and integration of the new trains?