MTR lands £1.4b contract to run London Crossrail

The MTR Corp has landed a £1.4 billion (HK$18.5 billion) contract to run the Crossrail train line that is being built across London.

It won the deal just two days after announcing that chief executive Jay Walder would step down next month, a year earlier than scheduled, after an internal report criticised him for "poor judgment" over the delayed cross-border railway project.

Walder's departure came at the end of an inquiry by a committee of MTR board members into the two-year delay of the HK$67 billion high-speed railway to Guangzhou.

Transport for London said yesterday the contract would be for eight years with an option to extend to 10 years.

The Crossrail service will connect the town of Reading and Heathrow to the west of London with Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, said the local government transport body.

The route will serve 40 stations, including Paddington, and run for 118km through the City and Canary Wharf business districts, as well as the West End theatre and shopping area.

Services will start in phases from 2015 to 2019. It will increase rail transport in London by 10 per cent when fully operational.