The 73-mile (118-kilometer) line is one of Britain\u2019s biggest infrastructure projects for decades and has cost around 15 billion pounds ($20 billion). It includes a 13-mile (21-kilometer) underground section through the heart of the city that has taken years to build.<\/p>\n
Crossrail chief executive Simon Wright said the new line \u201cis one of the most complex and challenging infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n
The firm said work on the central tunnels and on developing software had overrun, cutting into the scheduled testing time.<\/p>\n
Builders say Crossrail will add 10 percent to central London\u2019s rail capacity \u2014 easing the journeys of commuters who now pack the Underground\u2019s overstuffed Central Line \u2014 and bring a 42 billion- pound ($55 billion) boost to the economy.<\/p>\n
The decade-long construction project has also been one of London\u2019s biggest archaeological digs, uncovering everything from 68,000-year-old mammoth bones to the remains of a Tudor manor house and the skeletons of 14th-century Black Death victims.<\/p>\n
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