Crossrail remains at risk of blowing its budget despite receiving a £2 billion cash injection only last month, it was revealed today.
The cost of the train line has soared to £17.6 billion and a new date for its opening, which was supposed take place last month, is yet to be announced.
A report from financial analysts KMPG, commissioned by Sadiq Khan and Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, reveals there is a 20 per cent chance of it needing a further bail-out.
The project, which involves linking Reading and Heathrow with Shenfield and Abbey Wood via twin tunnels under central London, is eating up cash at a rate of £30 million a week.
The KMPG report was the basis upon which the Department for Transport granted an extra £2 billion of loans and cash. KPMG had calculated that an extra £1.6 billion to £2 billion was needed. But today it emerged that there was only an “80 per cent likelihood” of the maximum figure being accurate.
A Transport for London spokeswoman today said there was contingency to increase the budget by up to £2.45 billion if necessary.
The KPMG report, which has key sections blacked out, said costs were soaring primarily as a result of problems completing the 10 new stations.
This had “significant potential” to affect the project’s final cost. Bond Street and Whitechapel stations are known to be particularly problematic.
The “single most significant impact” on the final cost will be the time it takes to “demobilise” the army of contractors working on stations, KPMG added.
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