Request ID: FOI-1252-2223 Date published: 14 September 2022
You asked
Originally there was signage installed at certain stations carrying the name "Crossrail", prior to the decision being made in 2016 to rename it "Elizabeth line". This necessitated replacement of the redundant signage.
Please can I enquire what the total cost has been to replace "Crossrail" signage, i.e. money which would have been saved if the project had been named "Elizabeth line" from its inception?
Also a breakdown of the individual signage locations and replacement costs
Thank you.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-1252-2223
Thank you for your request received on 21 August 2022 asking for information about the cost of the Crossrail / Elizabeth line name change.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy.
Unfortunately, to determine whether we hold the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the FOI (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating, retrieving, and extracting it would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.
We have estimated that it would cost over £450 to provide a response to your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take over 18 hours to identify whether we hold the information you have requested.
The information you have requested is not stored or indexed centrally by TfL or Crossrail Limited. This information will have been held by the contractor, and due to the demobilisation of both the contractor and the Crossrail project team we are unable to identify whether this information is still held. In addition, were we able to identify whether this information is held it may not be possible to isolate the costs of individual signs as these would have all been included under the signage framework.
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. However, as stated above, due to the demobilisation of the Crossrail project team any historical information may be difficult to retrieve.
If you want to refine your request or make a FOI Act request in future, please bear in mind that the FOI Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.
Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
