31.01.18
Elizabeth Line hit with major challenges after electrical explosion pushes back testing
The energisation of eastern sections of the Elizabeth Line was pushed back in November after a voltage transformer meant to connect separate electrical appliances exploded, causing testing to be delayed.
The problems, coupled with the complex nature of the project and the scale on which it is being built, have prompted bosses to warn about the costing and timescale of the Elizabeth Line.
In a meeting with mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Crossrail chairman Sir Terry Morgan admitted that the work was “very close” to exceeding its budget after explaining the issues with testing.
Morgan said energisation of the line in the east of London, to be later used for testing, was on course to be completed before electrical issues hampered progress.
“We opened up the energisation of the east side of our railway, which was always going to be our platform for testing this train, in November,” he explained.
“It’s relatively standard but it had to interface between our own power needs and Network Rail’s, it got switched on – and exploded.”
The chairman appeared at the meeting alongside Mark Wild, London Underground managing director who oversees the Elizabeth Line, as the two have been jointly overseeing sections of the project.
But he admitted that neither of the parties could fix the problem any faster, adding: “I can’t think of anything more that we can do together to resolve the issue.”
Other issues had also pinned back some progress of the project, although both Wild and Morgan were confident that the planned timelines were possible.
However, the London Underground MD added: “We can still do it, but it’s very, very hard and complex and it brings with it cost pressures as well.”
The continuation of energisation processes was expected to be underway within days of the meeting, which took place yesterday, possibly as soon as last night – although Crossrail has not released any details of the operations.
Khan called an end to further discussion of the specific problems but said it was for “commercially sensitive reasons” rather than to hide details.
Energisation is a key part of the next phase of the Elizabeth Line, and official testing of the track is expected to begin soon after the electrical work has been completed.
For other parts of the project, Wild said things were going to plan. He confirmed that ongoing efforts alongside Bombardier to improve the stability of trains was proving extremely difficult but was progressing well.
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