Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps are being taken to reduce the cost to the public purse of delays in the construction of Crossrail.

Crossrail Limited, the organisation responsible for delivering the project and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transport for London, are working to establish a robust delivery schedule and gain certainty regarding the final cost of the project.

As announced in December, the Department is providing a loan of £1.3bn to the Greater London Authority and an additional loan facility of up to £750m to Transport for London to finance the remaining costs of the project. It is expected the project will be completed within the revised funding envelope of £17.6bn.

With the financial package now in place, Crossrail Limited can focus on finishing construction and moving ahead with the testing ready for the introduction of passenger services as soon as possible.