Sir Terry Morgan (pictured) is expected to leave his new post chairman of HS2 as well as step down from the Crossrail project in the coming weeks, after reports that Government had lost faith in him.
Once hailed as world class, Mr Morgan's appointment to HS2 was seen as a coup just months ago. However, it is now believed that transport secretary Chris Grayling, chancellor Philip Hammond and London mayor Sadiq Khan all want to see the back of Sir Terry.
The central reason appears to be the delays and cost overruns to Crossrail, which was once being held up as an exemplar of on-time and on-budget infrastructure delivery.
However the line through central London from Reading and Heathrow airport in the west to Abbeywood and Shenfield in the east, has so far increased its budget by £14.8bn to £15.8bn, and is facing a delay of around a year.
While the tunnels and most of the stations are complete, there were complications with testing the three different signalling systems and train control software being used on the line, spanning operators Transport for London (TfL), Crossrail and Network Rail.
This has put serious pressure on TfL's already difficult financial situation, with the transport authority set to lose around £400m in lost revenue from the project in 2021, it is estimated.
This in turn led to a souring of relationships with the mayor Sadiq Khan, who asserts he was not told about the delay until August, although Sir Terry said he told the mayor in July.
HS2 has also been subject to a string of scandals and issues and many in the sector see its £56bn budget as highly vulnerable to change.
Sir Terry has been Crossrail chairman since 2009, but was only appointed to HS2 in August.
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