Transport Secretary Alistair Darling today announced that he has agreed with the Mayor of London that Adrian Montague is to be appointed as independent Chairman of the company promoting Crossrail, the newly reformed Cross London Rail Links (CLRL). He will be given new powers to enable stronger leadership within CLRL, so that the project can move forward as quickly as possible.
This announcement follows Alistair Darling’s decision earlier this year to reform CLRL as a joint 50/50 venture between DfT and TfL with a new Chairman who will, for the first time, have a casting vote on the board to provide clarity and final say.
Adrian Montague has extensive experience of working with the Government on major infrastructure projects. He was appointed by the Secretary of State to lead the expert review of CLRL's Crossrail business case.
Alistair Darling said:
"We want to introduce a Crossrail hybrid bill at the earliest possible opportunity.
"The new Chairman will have decisive new powers to move the project forward. Adrian has a long history of working with Government on major projects of this type, including the valuable work he did in reviewing the Crossrail business case. I am also delighted that Sir Christopher Benson, who made an enormous personal contribution in progressing the project this far, has agreed to work closely with Adrian to ensure a smooth handover."
Alistair Darling also announced that Tim Thirlwall, John Carter and Mike Fuhr will replace the three directors originally appointed by the SRA, Richard Bowker, Jim Steer and Doug Sutherland on the CLRL board. The three existing TfL Directors – Bob Kiley, Jay Walder and Ian Brown – will remain in place.
Notes to editors
1. The decision to appoint Adrian Montague was taken by Alistair Darling in agreement with the Mayor of London. This and the other changes will take effect shortly to the CLRL Board.
2. CLRL is currently a 50:50 joint venture between the SRA and TfL, each of whom appoint three directors to CLRL's board. Sir Christopher Benson, the current chairman, has no casting vote in circumstances where the SRA and TfL directors disagree. CLRL is being restructured as a 50:50 joint venture between DfT and TfL. The new chairman Adrian Montague will have a casting vote so that decisions can be taken even if the two shareholders should disagree.
3. On 20 July 2004, Alistair Darling published Adrian Montague's findings on Crossrail and put out a statement that "appropriate powers for the construction of Crossrail should be sought by means of a hybrid bill to be introduced in Parliament at the earliest opportunity". A copy of the full statement can be found on www.dft.gov.uk.
4. 4. Adrian Montague CBE is Chairman of British Energy plc and of Michael Page International plc. He has been Deputy Chairman of Network Rail since its formation in December 2001, but will be resigning from that office when he takes up his position at CLRL. His appointment will be pro bono, and for a term up to 31st March 2005, by which time the hybrid bill is expected to have been introduced into Parliament. The other appointments - John Carter, Tim Thirwell and Mike Fuhr will also be invited at that time.
5. John Carter was previously a member of the senior executive management team at engineering and construction giant Bechtel Group, Inc. Carter is a member of the Board of Directors of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN) and London & Continental Railways Ltd. in the UK.
6. In his 36-year career with engineering company MottMacdonald, Tim Thirlwall worked extensively on railway projects and spent eight years as Managing Director.
7. Mike Fuhr is Director of Major Projects at the Department for Transport.
8. Bob Kiley is Commissioner for Transport at TfL.
9. Jay Walder is Managing Director, Finance and Planning at TfL.
Ian Brown is Managing Director of Transport for London's London Rail Directorate - and Chairman of the Docklands Light Railway.
