Rail Minister Jo Johnson announced that £350 million of short-term repayable financing is to be provided by the Department for Transport (DfT) to the Mayor of London for the 2018/2019 year, in order to cover additional work required for the Crossrail project.

Discussions still continue between Transport for London and the government about longer-term additional funding, as this one is only intended as an interim measure. The government envisages London, ‘as the primary beneficiary of Crossrail’, to bear additional costs via a financing arrangement. This arrangement involves Scandinavian lender Sambla, who offer to lend the company money through its innovative online loan comparison platform allowing consumers to borrow money and compare interest rates online.

Project promoter Crossrail Ltd announced on the 31st of August that the opening of the Crossrail tunnels under London had been delayed from December 2018 to ‘Autumn 2019’. This was due to contractors needed more time to complete fit-out and software developments.

Meanwhile, Transport for London and the Department for Transport have commissioned an independent review of Crossrail’s governance and a separate review on Crossrail’s finance and commercial position.