London's new Crossrail train line, the biggest infrastructure project in Europe which was set to operate through the capital's heart from December, has been postponed until late 2019, its chief executive said Friday. The Elizabeth Line, decades in the planning and making, and set to add 10 percent to central London's creaking rail capacity, will now open in the third quarter of 2019, Crossrail boss Simon Wright announced.
"We have made huge progress with the delivery of this incredible project but we need further time to complete the testing of the new railway," he said in a statement.
The 73-mile (118-kilometre) east-west railway line, with two branches at either end, is costing £15.4 billion ($20 billion, 17 billion euros) to build.
It will bring an extra 1.5 million people to within 45 minutes of central London and more than 200 million passengers are expected to use it every year.
"The revised schedule is needed to complete the final infrastructure and extensive testing required to ensure the Elizabeth Line opens as a safe and reliable railway," according to Crossrail.
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