Network Rail to provide £140m to solve Elizabeth Line chaos
Network Rail will provide £140m in funding aimed at resolving persistent disruption and delays on the London Elizabeth Line, it has been announced.
It comes after a meeting with Mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday, who has described the issues affecting the popular route as “not good enough.”
The £140m will be allocated from existing budgets, with the £104m set aside from Network Rail’s CP7 budgets between 2024 and 2029. No additional taxpayer funding has been requested.
In a statement, Khan said: “The Elizabeth line has been transformational, seeing well over 4.5m journeys every week, but it’s clear that the recent performance on the Elizabeth line has been below the high standards set when the railway was opened.
“I have been absolutely clear with Network Rail, MTR and TfL that the issues we have seen over the last six months are not acceptable. I am pleased that they have brought forward a comprehensive plan to resolve the problems on the line, and I will continue to hold them to account.”
Work will begin immediately to reduce disruption, continuing over the next six months. The following 12 months will see longer-term improvements to the network to tackle the key causes of disruption, followed by work towards sustaining and renewing the network.
After a booming first year in which the Elizabeth Line carried some 150.7m passengers, performance has dipped in recent months. Khan has said he is “deeply concerned” by the delays.
Commuters faced chaos on Monday after a landslip between Twyford and Reading hit routes to London Paddington.
Hong Kong-based MTR Corporation was awarded the contract to operate Crossrail, the railway construction project that delivered the project, in 2014.