Crossrail to open without Bond Street station, impacting central London retailers

Crossrail, known as the Elizabeth Line, will open its central section in London without its Bond Street station, according to the company's CEO Mark Wild.

Wild stated in a Crossrail progress video: "Bond Street has been decoupled from the opening of the railway, the team is working exceptionally well and catching up fast."

The central section has two stations that directly pass under London's iconic Oxford Street, located at Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street respectively.

The news should come as a blow to retail businesses, commuters and tourists who feel like the current London Underground trains at Bond Street are overcrowded and construction work has already damaged businesses footfall.

The Elizabeth Line was promised to "not only deliver major new stations in the West End but transform the areas around the stations". Almost 13 years since work officially began, no business can yet report any positive impact.

Services will commence on the Elizabeth Line before the end of June 2022, with the company confirming it will announce a specific opening date in the coming months.

In a statement, Crossrail said: "Following the opening of the central section, full services across the Elizabeth Line from Reading and Heathrow in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east will be introduced. The introduction of full services will be aligned with the National Rail timetable change which occurs twice a year in May and December."

The Bond Street station delay follows Crossrail and contractor Costain Skanska parting ways in 2020 "due to the volume of work remaining and the number of people required on site to complete the station".