The move means that the £200m contract for Bond Street station will no longer be awarded this year as planned but will be pushed back to the first quarter of 2013.

Crossrail engineers have been able to move the contract back because much of the tunnelling work will be carried out by Costain Skanska which is already excavating the site for the first TBM drives under contract C411.

The new programme will smooth out the tendering process for the three remaining central London station jobs, where many firms plan multiple bids.

It is the second time the central London station bidding programme has been rescheduled after contractors in 2011 called for more time for bidding.

A spokesperson for Crossrail said: “Crossrail constantly reviews the packaging structure for all major contracts.

“The intention has always been to award the major stations contracts in accordance with industry feedback and bidder capacity.

“This ensures that contracts are let in line with Crossrail’s delivery timetable while also allowing the construction industry to benefit from a staggered bid submission process.

“The next main construction contract to be awarded by spring 2012 will be for Liverpool Street station. This will be followed by the contract for Tottenham Court Road station in mid-2012.”

He added: “At Bond Street, the new station will be delivered through two major contracts – C411 and C412. The C411 contract awarded to Costain Skanska JV in March 2011 also includes the necessary civil engineering works to enable the TBMs to progress through later this year.

“The C412 contract is largely station fit-out and will be put out to tender later in 2012.”