The Crossrail programme is being run by Crossrail Ltd. This is now a wholly owned (but autonomous) subsidiary of Transport for London. There will be a whole series of contracts to implement various parts of the programme. Work on the tracks and stations on the existing surface railway (such as at Ealing Broadway) will be carried out by Network Rail, or by their contractors.

Work on the Crossrail programme is now well underway, especially on the stations in the central section. The Crossrail service will be introduced in stages with the part through central London expected to open in December 2018. A "Crossrail" service from the current Paddington station to Heathrow will replace the Heathrow Connect service in May 2018. However, it will be December 2019 before there is a through service from Ealing Broadway to central London and beyond.

1 July 2011