Crossrail and HS2 chairman steps down from roles

Sir Terry Morgan, the chairman behind the Crossrail and HS2 rail programmes, has resigned from the roles.

Sir Terry, who is 70, has stepped down from two of the country’s currently biggest infrastructure projects.

He has been involved in the capital’s Crossrail project for at least 10 years. Around four months ago, he also took on the HS2 role.

As told to the BBC this week, he announced Westminster had been disappointed about the delays affecting Crossrail.

The new Elizabeth Line had been due to open this month, however it has been pushed back to autumn 2019 - to supposedly allow for further tests.

He told the BBC, this week, that there was disappointment at Westminster about the delays affecting Crossrail.

Sir Terry had been expecting to be told to leave the projects. He also said the Crossrail project had been set back due to delays in ordering the trains - said to be the responsibility of Sadiq Khan.

However, the Mayor of London said: “Not only was I angry when Crossrail informed us that the project would be delayed, but historically there has been a lack of adequate information shared by the senior Crossrail leadership with the project’s joint sponsors - namely, the Department for Transport and Transport for London.”

Allan Cook has been appointed as the new chair of HS2.

A Crossrail successor is set to be announced, the Department for Transport said.

Transport secretary, Chris Grayling, added: “Sir Terry has been an integral part of Crossrail for almost a decade, and I would like to thank him for his dedication and the expertise he brought to the role. I am also grateful to him for his work as chair of HS2.”