Wednesday 1 Sep 2010
KEY CROSSRAIL MILESTONE PASSED AS NETWORK RAIL SUBMITS COST OF SURFACE WORKS
- Region & Route:
- National
Network Rail today confirmed it had successfully delivered another important piece of work on the Crossrail project – the key date 1 submission – ahead of schedule.
This contains the detailed costs and plans for designing, developing and delivering the above ground parts of the Crossrail project.
Extensive modeling and planning has gone into the submission, and cost savings have been identified in areas such as quicker ways to build parts of the scheme. Not only will this save money, it will also mean less disruption for passengers as it is built – a win for everyone involved.
Robbie Burns, programme director, Network Rail, said: “We have delivered what we believe is an affordable costs package to Crossrail for the surface works, on time and under budget. Value for money is a key element of the Network Rail submission and we have worked closely with Crossrail to make that so. Network Rail will continue to work with Crossrail so that the surface works are as cost effective as possible.”
Rob Holden, Crossrail chief executive added: “Crossrail continues to make significant progress with work now underway at Bond Street, Canary Wharf, Farringdon, Paddington and Tottenham Court Road. Crossrail is not just about building new tunnels and stations but also involves a major upgrade to the existing rail network. Network Rail’s costs for surface works will be a key component of Crossrail’s updated delivery cost submission to government and Transport for London as project sponsors later this year.”
Crossrail Ltd will now evaluate the key date 1 submission and report back to Network Rail by 31 December 2010.
Notes to editors
Network Rail delivering Crossrail
Network Rail is a key partner in Crossrail and is making significant investment in upgrading the network around the capital to deliver it. This complements Network Rail’s other work to increase capacity and improve performance across Britain.
Network Rail is responsible for the design, development and delivery of the parts of Crossrail that are on the existing network. Its work will integrate Crossrail with the national rail network, delivering faster, more frequent trains into central London from the east and west. The work includes upgrading 70km of track, redeveloping 28 stations, and renewing 15 bridges, as well as removing around 1m cubic metres of spoil from the tunnel excavation by rail, reducing the need for construction traffic on the roads.
Unlike the work on the central tunnel, Network Rail will do all of this on an active operational railway, delivering vital upgrade works whilst minimising disruption to train services.
Network Rail has already made a start on Crossrail works at Paddington and Farringdon stations.
About Crossrail
Crossrail will run 118km from Maidenhead and Heathrow in the west, through new twin-bore 21km tunnels under central London to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east. It will bring an additional 1.5m people within 45 minutes commuting distance of London's key business districts. When it opens in 2017, Crossrail will provide new transport links with the Tube, Thameslink, National Rail, DLR and London Overground.
Contact information
Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41
Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries
Journalists
Network Rail press office - National
020 3356 8700
mediarelations@networkrail.co.uk
About Network Rail
We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk