Network Rail announces plan to address Elizabeth line issues
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Network Rail has announced a plan to address issues on the Elizabeth line west of Paddington.
The plan follows a meeting with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who said the issues over the past six months were “not acceptable”.
Nearly £140 million will be allocated from existing budgets to tackle the issues, with the majority set aside from Network Rail’s CP7 budgets from 2024 to 2029, the mayor’s office said in a statement.
It’s clear that the recent performance on the Elizabeth line has been below the high standards set when the railway was opened
No additional taxpayer funding has been requested, it added.
Work will begin immediately to stabilise the network, while the following 12 months will see longer-term improvement.
Mr Khan said recent performance on the Elizabeth line has been “below the high standards set”.
“The Elizabeth line has been transformational, seeing well over 4.5 million 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,” he said.
“I have been absolutely clear with Network Rail, MTR (the line operators) 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.”
Services to the line were affected again on Monday with a landslip between Twyford and Reading impacting routes to and from London Paddington.
