UK: An £825m loan to ensure the continuation of work on completing and commissioning the delayed Crossrail project has been agreed by the Mayor of London, Transport for London, the Department for Transport and the Treasury.
Project promoter Crossrail Ltd announced in August that it would require further funding beyond a £2·15bn package which had been agreed by the DfT, GLA and TfL in December 2018.
Under the latest agreement announced on December 1, the Greater London Authority borrowing up to £825m from the DfT to cover the shortfall. The money would then be passed on to TfL as a grant, once the transport authority has fully exhausted its £750m loan facility agreed as part of the previous £2·15bn package.
The GLA loan is being split into two elements — £500m with a fixed repayment profile and £325m on which the repayments will be dependent on future revenues from the Business Rate Supplement and Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy. TfL said the government had agreed to make the necessary legislative changes to authorise this borrowing model.
‘The government remains committed to the rapid completion of the project, in a way that is fair to UK taxpayers, and has committed to financing the completion of Crossrail’, said Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps. ‘However, London as the primary beneficiary must ultimately bear any additional costs. Crossrail Ltd is committed to reducing its funding shortfall, and will take all necessary steps to complete the project without requiring further additional funding. TfL is ensuring that further independent analysis of costs are carried out.’
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said ‘securing this financing package enables us to press full steam ahead with getting the central section of the Elizabeth Line open as soon as possible’.
The Mayor said the government had ‘insisted London must pay the shortfall – despite the overwhelming majority of the tax income that will result from Crossrail going to the Treasury. This is another example of London supporting the country way over and above the help we get from this government.’
Intensive test running is now expected to start during 2021, and Crossrail Ltd anticipates that Elizabeth Line services will begin running through central London in the first half of 2022.
