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The opening of Crossrail has been delayed to autumn 2021, according to the Transport for London (TfL) Commissioner.
The Elizabeth line, as the east-west link will be known when it finally opens, was due to start carrying commuters in December 2018.
In November, Mark Wild, the chief executive of Crossrail, said that the line would open “as soon as practically possible in 2021”.
But today TfL Commissioner, Mike Brown, told the London Assembly Budget and Performance Committee that the central section of the new line, between Paddington and Abbey Wood in south east London, was now expected to open at the end of 2021.
Through trains to Heathrow airport will begin in December 2022, although Crossrail trains from Paddington to the UK’s busiest airport could start sooner.
Created with Sketch.
Created with Sketch.
1/50 6 January 2020
Protesters in London take part in a demonstration in support of a British woman found guilty of lying about being gang raped in Cyprus
AP
2/50 5 January 2020
Protesters demonstrate outside the US Embassy in London, after America killed Iran's general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport
PA
3/50 4 January 2020
Metropolitan police cordon off Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road in Finsbury Park in north London, after a man was stabbed to death on Friday evening, the first murder in London in 2020
PA
4/50 3 January 2020
Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran's elite Quds Force and Iran's top general
PA
5/50 2 January 2020
A keeper counts squirrel-monkeys at London Zoo during the annual stocktake. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo's keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo
AP
6/50 1 January 2020
Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3
PA
7/50 31 December 2019
Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast
PA
8/50 30 December 2019
Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London
Reuters
9/50 29 December 2019
Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland
PA
10/50 28 December 2019
The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium
Getty Images for Harlequins
11/50 27 December 2019
A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
12/50 26 December 2019
Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow
EPA
13/50 25 December 2019
Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London
PA
14/50 24 December 2019
Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London
EPA
15/50 23 December 2019
Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone
AFP via Getty
16/50 22 December 2019
People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year
PA
17/50 21 December 2019
Southampton's Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa
Reuters
18/50 20 December 2019
The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge
PA
19/50 19 December 2019
Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament
AFP via Getty
20/50 18 December 2019
Luke Jerram's art installation 'Gaia', a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth's surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall
PA
21/50 17 December 2019
A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol
PA
22/50 16 December 2019
Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK
PA
23/50 15 December 2019
Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood
PA
24/50 14 December 2019
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland
Getty Images
25/50 13 December 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds arrive back at Downing Street after the results for the general election were announced. The Conservative Party won with an overall majority
EPA
26/50 12 December 2019
A dog outside a polling station during the general election in Northumberland
Reuters
27/50 11 December 2019
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson stands between a Stop Brexit sign as she attends a general election campaign event at Esher Rugby Club, south west London. Britain will go to the polls tomorrow to vote
AFP via Getty
28/50 10 December 2019
A surfer off the North East coast at Tynemouth
PA
29/50 9 December 2019
Leah Rossiter (left) and Ceara Carney, dressed as mermaids, join members of the Irish Wildlife Trust and Extinction Rebellion Ireland protesting outside Leinster House in Dublin, against overfishing in Irish Waters
PA
30/50 8 December 2019
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn poses for selfies with supporters at a general election rally in Colwyn Bay, north Wales
AFP via Getty
31/50 7 December 2019
Speedo Mick outside the stadium before the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park
Action Images via Reuters
32/50 6 December 2019
A climate activist wearing a mask and holding a placard reading 'Fossil fuel era is over' outside Millbank Studios in London
AP
33/50 5 December 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with the SNP campaign bus in front of the Queensferry Crossing, while on the General Election campaign trail in Scotland
PA
34/50 4 December 2019
The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, which is given every year by the city of Oslo as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during the Second World War
PA
35/50 3 December 2019
Protesters against the visit of US President Trump during a demonstration near Buckingham Palace on the first day of the Nato Summit in London
EPA
36/50 2 December 2019
England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand
Getty
37/50 1 December 2019
A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland
Reuters
38/50 30 November 2019
A police officer looks at flowers left at London Bridge in central London, after a terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage killing two people, and was shot dead by police
PA
39/50 29 November 2019
School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
40/50 28 November 2019
Cyclists make their way up a tree lined hill near to Moor Crichel in Dorset. November's dismal weather will finally change, with drier and colder conditions coming for the start of December, forecasters have said
PA
41/50 27 November 2019
The moment a swan flew over a flock of 60,000 starlings as dusk fell on Whixall Moss Nature Reserve in Shropshire
Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS
42/50 26 November 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire
PA
43/50 25 November 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with sheep as he visits the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, whilst on the General Election campaign trail
PA
44/50 24 November 2019
Cush Jumbo attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Coliseum
Getty Images
45/50 23 November 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets a supporter on a train on his return from a visit to Sheffield
PA
46/50 22 November 2019
Gallery assistants adjust 'The Ancient Town of Uglich' by Konstantin Yuon, 1913, estimated at £600,000 to £800,000, during a press preview of the sale of works by some of the most pre-eminent creators of Russian art at Sotheby's in London
PA
47/50 21 November 2019
A mother seal appears to hug her pup as grey seals return to Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late autumn and winter to give birth
PA
48/50 20 November 2019
After Mauricio Pochettino's sacking the eveninfg before newly appointed Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho, takes his first training session in charge
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty
49/50 19 November 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Jimmy Egan's Boxing Academy at Wythenshawe, while on the campaign trail ahead of the General Election
PA
50/50 18 November 2019
Mist over Buttermere lake in the Lake District
PA
1/50 6 January 2020
Protesters in London take part in a demonstration in support of a British woman found guilty of lying about being gang raped in Cyprus
AP
2/50 5 January 2020
Protesters demonstrate outside the US Embassy in London, after America killed Iran's general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport
PA
3/50 4 January 2020
Metropolitan police cordon off Charteris Road close to the junction with Lennox Road in Finsbury Park in north London, after a man was stabbed to death on Friday evening, the first murder in London in 2020
PA
4/50 3 January 2020
Protesters, holding a photograph of the leader of the People's Mujahedin of Iran Massoud Rajavi, outside Downing Street in London after the US killed General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad's international airport. Soleimani was head of Tehran's elite Quds Force and Iran's top general
PA
5/50 2 January 2020
A keeper counts squirrel-monkeys at London Zoo during the annual stocktake. Caring for more than 500 different species, ZSL London Zoo's keepers face the challenging task of tallying up every mammal, bird, reptile, fish and invertebrate at the Zoo
AP
6/50 1 January 2020
Peter Wright celebrates winning with the Sid Waddell trophy at the Darts World Championships in London. He stunned Michael van Gerwen to clinch his first title 7-3
PA
7/50 31 December 2019
Surfers at Tynemouth on the north east coast
PA
8/50 30 December 2019
Deer graze in the morning mist as cyclists ride by in Richmond Park, London
Reuters
9/50 29 December 2019
Night sky after the sunset at Whitley Bay in Northumberland
PA
10/50 28 December 2019
The Harlequins players arrive at the stadium prior to the Gallagher Premiership Rugby Big Game 12 match between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers at Twickenahm Stadium
Getty Images for Harlequins
11/50 27 December 2019
A car drives through floodwater near Harbridge, north of Ringwood in Hampshire, after the river Avon burst its banks
PA
12/50 26 December 2019
Participants in the Old Surrey and West Kent Boxing Day Hunt in Chiddingstone. Hunting with horses and hounds is a Boxing Day tradition. Since the fox hunting ban in 2004, modified hunts take place using scented trails for the animals to follow
EPA
13/50 25 December 2019
Swimmers of the Serpentine Swimming Club take part in the Peter Pan Cup race, which is held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine, in central London
PA
14/50 24 December 2019
Shoppers bid for cuts of meat during a Christmas Eve auction in Smithfield market in London
EPA
15/50 23 December 2019
Reggie the dog is rescued with a boat from flooding at the Little Venice Country Park and Marina in Maidstone
AFP via Getty
16/50 22 December 2019
People gather at Stonehenge in Wiltshire to mark the winter solstice, and to witness the sunrise after the longest night of the year
PA
17/50 21 December 2019
Southampton's Jack Stephens scores their second goal against Aston Villa
Reuters
18/50 20 December 2019
The coffin arrives for the funeral of London Bridge terror attack victim Jack Merritt at Great St Mary's Church in Cambridge
PA
19/50 19 December 2019
Queen Elizabeth II and her son Prince Charles walk behind the Imperial State Crown as they proccess through the Royal Gallery, before the Queen's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament
AFP via Getty
20/50 18 December 2019
Luke Jerram's art installation 'Gaia', a replica of planet earth created using detailed Nasa imagery of the Earth's surface, hangs on display at the Eden Project in St Austell, Cornwall
PA
21/50 17 December 2019
A surfer gets into the festive spirit at the inland surfing lagoon at The Wave, near Bristol
PA
22/50 16 December 2019
Snowy conditions near Deepdale in the Yorkshire Dales National Park as snow hits parts of the UK
PA
23/50 15 December 2019
Oisin Carson, 5, picks a Christmas tree at Wicklow Way Christmas tree farm in Roundwood
PA
24/50 14 December 2019
First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, takes a selfie as she joins the SNPs newly elected MPs for a group photo outside the V&A Museum in Dundee, Scotland
Getty Images
25/50 13 December 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds arrive back at Downing Street after the results for the general election were announced. The Conservative Party won with an overall majority
EPA
26/50 12 December 2019
A dog outside a polling station during the general election in Northumberland
Reuters
27/50 11 December 2019
Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson stands between a Stop Brexit sign as she attends a general election campaign event at Esher Rugby Club, south west London. Britain will go to the polls tomorrow to vote
AFP via Getty
28/50 10 December 2019
A surfer off the North East coast at Tynemouth
PA
29/50 9 December 2019
Leah Rossiter (left) and Ceara Carney, dressed as mermaids, join members of the Irish Wildlife Trust and Extinction Rebellion Ireland protesting outside Leinster House in Dublin, against overfishing in Irish Waters
PA
30/50 8 December 2019
Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn poses for selfies with supporters at a general election rally in Colwyn Bay, north Wales
AFP via Getty
31/50 7 December 2019
Speedo Mick outside the stadium before the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park
Action Images via Reuters
32/50 6 December 2019
A climate activist wearing a mask and holding a placard reading 'Fossil fuel era is over' outside Millbank Studios in London
AP
33/50 5 December 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon with the SNP campaign bus in front of the Queensferry Crossing, while on the General Election campaign trail in Scotland
PA
34/50 4 December 2019
The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square, which is given every year by the city of Oslo as a token of Norwegian gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during the Second World War
PA
35/50 3 December 2019
Protesters against the visit of US President Trump during a demonstration near Buckingham Palace on the first day of the Nato Summit in London
EPA
36/50 2 December 2019
England captain Joe Root celebrates reaching his double century during day 4 of the second Test match against New Zealand at Seddon Park in Hamilton, New Zealand
Getty
37/50 1 December 2019
A hard frost is seen on the first day of the meteorological winter in Pitlochry, Scotland
Reuters
38/50 30 November 2019
A police officer looks at flowers left at London Bridge in central London, after a terrorist wearing a fake suicide vest who went on a knife rampage killing two people, and was shot dead by police
PA
39/50 29 November 2019
School children and students take part in the Youth Strike for Climate in London as part of the Fridays for Future Global Climate Strike
Angela Christofilou/The Independent
40/50 28 November 2019
Cyclists make their way up a tree lined hill near to Moor Crichel in Dorset. November's dismal weather will finally change, with drier and colder conditions coming for the start of December, forecasters have said
PA
41/50 27 November 2019
The moment a swan flew over a flock of 60,000 starlings as dusk fell on Whixall Moss Nature Reserve in Shropshire
Andrew Fusek Peters / SWNS
42/50 26 November 2019
SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon plays with local children during a visit to the Jelly Tots & Cookies Play Cafe in Uddingston, South Lanarkshire
PA
43/50 25 November 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with sheep as he visits the Royal Welsh Showground, in Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, whilst on the General Election campaign trail
PA
44/50 24 November 2019
Cush Jumbo attends the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards at London Coliseum
Getty Images
45/50 23 November 2019
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets a supporter on a train on his return from a visit to Sheffield
PA
46/50 22 November 2019
Gallery assistants adjust 'The Ancient Town of Uglich' by Konstantin Yuon, 1913, estimated at £600,000 to £800,000, during a press preview of the sale of works by some of the most pre-eminent creators of Russian art at Sotheby's in London
PA
47/50 21 November 2019
A mother seal appears to hug her pup as grey seals return to Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late autumn and winter to give birth
PA
48/50 20 November 2019
After Mauricio Pochettino's sacking the eveninfg before newly appointed Tottenham head coach, Jose Mourinho, takes his first training session in charge
Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty
49/50 19 November 2019
Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Jimmy Egan's Boxing Academy at Wythenshawe, while on the campaign trail ahead of the General Election
PA
50/50 18 November 2019
Mist over Buttermere lake in the Lake District
PA
Trains from Shenfield in Essex through central London could start running in May 2022.
“We’ve looked at a delay until the later stages of 2021, in terms of our business planning assumption,” he said, calling the new delay “pragmatic”, reports Reuters.
A TfL spokesperson told The Independent: “The Crossrail team continues to make progress completing the railway and is moving forward with the complex testing of the signalling and train systems so that the railway can be handed over safely and reliably for passenger service.
“As Crossrail Ltd previously announced, the Elizabeth line will open as soon as practically possible in 2021.
“As part of our annual business planning process, we have made some prudent assumptions including that the central section of the railway could open in autumn 2021, but continue to support Crossrail Ltd in delivering the railway as soon as possible. Crossrail Ltd continue to refine their delivery schedule and will provide an update in the coming weeks.”
Costs for the much-delayed Crossrail are heading towards £20bn, more than one third more than the original estimate of £14.8bn.
The 73-mile-long line will run from Reading in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, through central London.