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Terry Morgan facing the sack due to Crossrail cost overruns

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Taunton

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...terry-morgan-faces-sack-over-spiralling-costs

The chairman of HS2 is facing the sack less than five months after his appointment because of fears that costs are spiralling out of control.

Sir Terry Morgan is also set to be removed as the chairman of Crossrail, the ambitious line linking east and west London, relieving him of leadership of two of the UK’s highest-profile infrastructure projects, according to a report.

“The more people looked into what was happening at Crossrail, the more they realised that Terry Morgan wasn’t the person to take a massive project like HS2 over the line,” the FT quoted the government official as saying. “There are a whole load of companies waiting for HS2 to start awarding contracts for the construction phase, but we are still awaiting final decisions. People are kicking their heels.”

"A world class leader".

"Oh yes, he has two jobs because he's a world class leader".

"He's useless. Fired".
 
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Ianno87

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Please edit thread title. He "faces sack" (allegedly), not "has been sacked".
 
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Well, the way the bad news on Crossrail came out didn't really help things. A drip by drip approach might have worked better...
 

dmncf

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"It is thought that both Grayling and the chancellor, Philip Hammond, had declared they had no confidence in Morgan’s leadership and urged May to remove him."

I find it confusing that Conservative London Assembly point the finger at Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for Crossrail's cost overrun, yet the article suggests that Crossrail's Chairman is so powerful that it takes the Prime Minister to sack him!
 

strawbrick

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If I heard the interview on this morning's Today programme correctly, Sir Terry asserted that the opening date for Crossrail had to be put back because the TfL, who procured the trains, were 18 months late in placing the order. This meant that the trains were not available at the date(s) required by the Project programme and as a result the opening of the iline has had to be delayed until "next autumn" (which according to my diary ends 20th December 2019)..

Nothing to do with the Civils / Fit-out works not being complete then ...
 

Taunton

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Sir Terry asserted that the opening date for Crossrail had to be put back because the TfL, who procured the trains, were 18 months late in placing the order. This meant that the trains were not available at the date(s) required by the Project programme...
It seems they were indeed ordered 18 months behind an original programme, and the order for the trains was not placed until February 2014. Crossrail couldn't really say they didn't know about this, when the actually put out a press release about it at the time, with a commentary by their Chief Exec Andrew Wolstenholme. Here it is.

http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/art...er-crossrail-rolling-stock-and-depot-contract

Did Sir Terry explain why, four and a half years later, he was however still telling everyone that the line would open in December 2018. And if he offered no comment himself on this inconsistency, did the journalist not ask him ...
 
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plcd1

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It seems they were indeed ordered 18 months behind an original programme, and the order for the trains was not placed until February 2014. Crossrail couldn't really say they didn't know about this, when the actually put out a press release about it at the time, with a commentary by their Chief Exec Andrew Wolstenholme. Here it is.

http://www.crossrail.co.uk/news/art...er-crossrail-rolling-stock-and-depot-contract

Did Sir Terry explain why, four and a half years later, he was however still telling everyone that the line would open in December 2018. And if he offered no comment himself on this inconsistency, did the journalist not ask him ...

He appeared on BBC London News this evening. He said the told the Mayor the opening would be delayed in July this year rather than in August. He wouldn't indulge in any open criticism of the Mayor in the interview. No great surprise there.

I don't understand the 18 months late reference. The trains are clearly not late - the first ones arrived when expected but the entry into service was a little late as much discussed here and elsewhere. Reliability build up has been a significant issue - again much discussed - which will have impeded the ability to integrate the signalling technologies. The woes on the Heathrow branch potentially add up to a delay of 18 months because of the related cascade. [I claim no great personal insight here - it's been explained on another forum and the commenter there also posts here]. The Heathrow and Hayes bay platform issues have reduced the number of 7 car trains available out east in the short term.

The questions here are who is the client for these complex bits of phased work, who did the risk analysis and was it properly understood and have those "at the top" really had a firm grip and understanding of what are pretty complex and involved issues on rolling stock and signalling kit? I suspect the sheer complexity was not understood and the "difficult messages" may not have been pushed up the Crossrail / TfL / Network Rail management chains fast enough or early enough. Failure to deliver a reliable train really sits with Bombardier. OK TfL may have been the purchaser of the stock but I doubt they were managing their introduction day to day - that would be between Bombardier and MTR Crossrail with relevant interface with Network Rail.

I suspect we will not know the truth for a long while - probably the NAO report whenever they conclude their investigation. The Deputy Mayor for Transport also appeared on BBC London News and was "robust" about the dates when the Mayor was told of the delays (August not July). When pressed further she walked off camera as "time had run out". Didn't look good though. Clearly someone's rattled somewhere as Assembly Members are, inevitably, causing political ructions.
 

HH

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Almost all complex projects come in late and over budget. In fact, almost all projects do.

If I were choosing someone to put in charge of a large, complex project, I would only choose from those that acknowledged this fact and at least had a realistic view of how to manage the project.
 

Panupreset

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I think the whole thing should be made into an episode of 'The Apprentice'.

This is a total shambles! Your fired!
 

LNW-GW Joint

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Terry Morgan has resigned as Chair of Crossrail and HS2 Ltd.
The new HS2 Chair is Allan Cook.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/crossrail-and-hs2-chairman-steps-down
Allan Cook CBE DSc is a chartered engineer with more than 40 years’ international experience in the infrastructure, automotive, aerospace and defence industries. His experience includes serving as Co-Chair of the Defence Growth Partnership, Chair of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, as a director of JF Lehman and Company, and as a former lead non-executive director for the then-Department of Business, Innovation and Skills under the coalition government. Among his other senior posts, he was also chair of WS Atkins Plc, Leonardo UK, and Deputy Chair of Marshalls Group. He served as the CEO of Cobham Plc from 2000 to 2009.
 
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