City headhunter Odgers Berndston is currently searching for somebody to fill the shoes of Rob Holden as the chief executive of the £15bn project when he leaves in July.
Holden stunned the industry in January when he said he planned to move on for personal reasons after less than two years into the job.
Berndston has approached several prominent industry figures including past and present chiefs from High Speed One, Heathrow Terminal Five, the ODA and Network Rail.
According to a report in the Observer a project source revealed the serious contenders being considered on the long list include:
Crossrail contenders
- Mark Bayley of London & Continental Railways
- Tony Douglas, former Heathrow T5 boss
- Ian Galloway, director at Olympic delivery partner CLM
- Ailie MacAdam, Crossrail central tunnelling boss
- Andrew Mitchell, Programme director Crossrail
- Howard Shipley, construction director at the ODA
A speedy appointment of a new chief executive is vital if Crossrail is to continue moving forward in a positive manner.
Bayley is being viewed as an early favourite for the job because his tenure at High Speed One is drawing to a close next month.
He also worked closely with Holden, the former LCR boss who oversaw the crucial construction phase of High Speed One and St Pancras International station, as finance director on the £5.8bn project.