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The service provided by Crossrail will be delayed.

(28 Posts)
trisher Sat 01-Sep-18 11:10:41

Does anyone really understand what has happened to this project? Can they explain why unllike other contracts there never seems to be a penalty clause in these government projects, the cost just escalates and the completion times lengthens, whilst the chief executive continues to collect his £950000 a year+bonus?

Greyduster Sat 01-Sep-18 11:21:52

Wait till they get to HS2. The costs for that are already totally out of sight in comparison to the original estimate and they haven’t broken the ground yet!

paddyann Sat 01-Sep-18 11:26:57

The Scottish government built a bridge ,completed last year where there was a penalty clause written in.The bridge was originally meant to be finished in the spring,then the constructors decided it was going so well it might be finished by Christmas.Sadly a death on the bridge and foul weather put the date back to summer last year.The bridge came in UNDER budget with no excess costs from the constructors.I never understod why all companies doing massive projects cant all be held to acount over times and costs .Its what happens in ordinary life .

trisher Sat 01-Sep-18 12:28:05

So it can be done paddyann I wondered if there was some restriction on penalty clauses that stopped them from being used in government contracts. If that isn't the case why on earth aren't they used? Is it some way of paying government money to companies so the shareholders benefit?

Jane10 Sat 01-Sep-18 13:27:31

That bridge is still having work done to it. It's extremely frustrating for poor commuters. If only it really had been completed on time.

trisher Sat 01-Sep-18 13:35:14

So is it finished? Any evidence?

trisher Sat 01-Sep-18 13:38:32

Greyduster I think of HS2 as much like the "Bogey Man" I heard stories about as a child. I am almost sure it doesn't really exist, but there is a nagging doubt at the back of my mind that something is lurking in the cupboard under the stairs

paddyann Sat 01-Sep-18 13:44:40

of course its finished its in use every single day,We use it regularly.It was "closed2 for the normal essential checks for twwo days after it opened but I have heard only good reports about it and the effects on the traffic in the area .Jane is not a Holyrood fan so nothing they do will ever make her happy !!

paddyann Sat 01-Sep-18 13:50:36

Queensferry Crossing - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensferry_Crossing

The Queensferry Crossing is a road bridge in Scotland. It was built alongside the existing Forth Road Bridge and carries the M90 motorway across the Firth of ...
Construction cost‎: ‎£1.35 billion
Constructed by‎: ‎Forth Crossing Bridge Constru...
Construction end‎: ‎27 August 2017
Longest span‎: ‎650 metres (2,133 ft)

trisher Sat 01-Sep-18 13:55:00

Thanks paddyanne

crystaltipps Sat 01-Sep-18 14:59:05

We went across that bridge this summer paddyanne, our Satnav showed that we were in the middle of the water .

trisher Sat 01-Sep-18 15:51:56

Mmm Fake news Jane10?

crystaltipps Sat 01-Sep-18 15:58:15

It was last Sunday when we went across the new bridge. I didn’t realise it had just opened, we were trying to follow the Satnav and it didn’t know of it’s existence.

paddyann Sat 01-Sep-18 16:04:03

Thanks trisher some folk wont ackowledge anything good the SNP government do .Over 24 MILLION cars crossed in its first year ,although as they are SNP figures I expect Jane will tell you they are wrong and only 25 cars made it safely across

mcem Sat 01-Sep-18 16:07:43

Used the new bridge recently on way to airport. Quick, smooth, no holdups and what paddy didn't mention was, it is a beautiful structure.
The iconic Forth rail bridge next to the striking road bridge and now this spectacular new crossing!
Affy bonny!

Jane10 Sat 01-Sep-18 16:25:09

Nope not fake news! There are none so blind as avid SNP ers. Delays mentioned daily by commuters.

trisher Sat 01-Sep-18 16:29:01

Evidence then please Jane10 we have a link and 2 posters who have used the bridge, but nothing from you.

mcem Sat 01-Sep-18 16:30:14

Can only speak from my own experience and that of friends who regularly use the crossing!
I am not an avid SNPer but see no reason to be forever negative.
I 'm now wondering when the carping will start about Dundee 's V&A which opens mid-September!

Jane10 Sat 01-Sep-18 16:30:53

Don't know how to post link to article stating 18 month delay to completion. Michael Matheson the transport minister announced it. Check the Scotsman.

trisher Sat 01-Sep-18 19:41:39

No 18 month delay-just 9 months and it came in under budget
The projected cost of the new bridge was reduced again in October 2014 when the upper limit was lowered by £50m to £1.4bn.
Nicola Sturgeon, who was then deputy first minister, said the project would be completed by the end of 2016.
The final cost of the bridge is said to be £1.35bn, well within budget, but the opening date has slipped by nine months, mainly due to the weather.

annodomini Sat 01-Sep-18 20:08:32

On my last visit to Scotland, in May, I was driven to and from the Airport via the Queensferry Crossing which I found most impressive. Complemented the other two bridges perfectly. I've never heard a whisper about its being unfinished.

Jane10 Sun 02-Sep-18 06:45:30

Just Google Queensferry crossing delays. Lot more work to go on over the next months.
I'm glad that at least 3 people weren't held up near or on it. Unfortunately there are many more complaints than that about it. DH for one on Friday. He gave up and went another route. Others have resorted to using the old bridge which is now only for public transport. No point in constant tit for tat and wishful thinking. Its not completed and even the transport minister admits that!

Jane10 Sun 02-Sep-18 06:46:43

Trisher's quote is an out of date one.

Greyduster Sun 02-Sep-18 09:14:42

Trisher that’s how I would like to think of HS2 too, but even at this amorphous stage it is having a profound effect on people’s lives up here.

Pittcity Sun 02-Sep-18 09:31:44

We were so looking forward to Crossrail as we could then easily get to Heathrow. But we're not surprised. Rail services here are disrupted every day by something or other and there's engineering every weekend. It all needs ripping out and starting again rather than just patching up imho.
There is an amusing sign on our trains that tells us that we will be getting new trains "next year"......a bit like jam tomorrow then!