A flagship £3.55 billion north-south rail link across London may not be delivered on time with passengers facing a wait of up to 30 years before they can use it, a damning report by MPs has revealed.

In the highly critical report, MPs questioned the way in which the Department for Transport (DfT) has sought to advance the  Thameslink extension and cast doubt on the official 2018 completion date.

The House of Commons public accounts committee said that the department’s award of a £1.6bn private finance contract for new trains for Thameslink was delayed by significantly more than three years.