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Unfinished Crossrail line printed in misleading map in WHSmith 2019 diaries

A misleading transport map that includes the delayed Crossrail line has been printed inside 2019 diaries being sold by a major retailer.

WHSmith is selling the products which were printed before it emerged the line would not open on time.

London's new east-west railway was due to launch as the Elizabeth line in December, but this did not happen due to several major issues.

Sportswear firm Adidas was also caught out by Crossrail's problems as it put special edition trainers displaying the Elizabeth line roundel and purple branding on sale to coincide with the scheduled opening.

Tunnel vision: the completed track in Whitechapel (PA)
Tunnel vision: the completed track in Whitechapel (PA)

Transport bosses have been forced to partly cover a large Crossrail poster at Tottenham Court Road Tube station to hide references to an opening in 2018.

It was announced on August 31 that Crossrail would not open until autumn 2019, but Mark Wild, who became the project's chief executive in November, has said it may be delayed even further.

He revealed last week that "none of the stations could have been ready for December" and admitted there are "still thousands of hours of construction work to do in the tunnels".

Sadiq Khan in a Clayton locomotive at Custom House in London to ride the Elizabeth line for first time (PA Archive/PA Images)
Sadiq Khan in a Clayton locomotive at Custom House in London to ride the Elizabeth line for first time (PA Archive/PA Images)

Testing of the signalling systems is also taking much longer than expected.

Crossrail's delay has resulted in a row over when London mayor Sadiq Khan knew the railway would not open on time.

He claims he only found out on August 29, two days before Londoners were informed, but Crossrail Ltd's former chairman Sir Terry Morgan insists the mayor was aware of problems at least a month beforehand.

Mr Khan claims he was only told Crossrail would be delayed two days before Londoners were told (PA Archive/PA Images)
Mr Khan claims he was only told Crossrail would be delayed two days before Londoners were told (PA Archive/PA Images)

Keith Prince, a Conservative member of the Greater London Authority who sits on the transport committee, told the Press Association: "When it comes to Crossrail, it is becoming clearer by the day that the mayor took his eye off the ball.

"Now he is simply refusing to show leadership by blaming other people for his failure to prepare for possible complications.

"The delay to Crossrail will have an effect on housing, business, Transport for London's (TfL) finances and the ability of Londoners to travel around our city.

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Stark extent of Crossrail's unfinished work revealed

"The delay has even impacted on the manufacturers of products such as trainers and diaries, who invested in adapting their products to coincide with the Crossrail opening.

"They learnt about the delay too late in the day and ended up wasting money as a result."

A TfL spokeswoman said: "The Elizabeth line naming was announced in February 2016 and we have been working with a range of companies on products to generate commercial revenue, which is then reinvested in TfL services.

"We had been working with several companies ... ahead of the planned launch in December 2018 and due to lead times some of these products were already in production when Crossrail Ltd announced there would be a delay to the opening of the line.

"We will continue to seek new commercial partnerships for the Elizabeth line, other lines and the TfL brand."

Once fully opened, the Elizabeth line will run from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, through 13 miles of new tunnels in central London.

The cost is being met by the Government, the Greater London Authority and London businesses.

Its budget was set at £15.9 billion in 2007. This was cut to £14.8 billion in 2010, but raised to £15.4 billion in July 2018.

In December, the project was given a £1.4 billion bailout due to the delays.

The Standard has approached WHSmith for comment.

Additional reporting by PA.