A Covid-19 outbreak at Transport for London’s (TfL) Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy has hit Crossrail’s training programme. Papers released ahead of TfL’s board meeting next week reveal that the Covid-19 outbreak “has increased the pressure on training” of operations and maintenance staff ahead of the opening of the Elizabeth line. Staff are being trained on signalling, control room operations and asset maintenance systems. The Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) was set up in 2011. It transferred to TfL in 2017, when a deal was struck to partner with Prospects College of Advanced Technology. The main focus of the academy is to build on the Crossrail legacy in teaching specialist skills in tunnelling and underground construction for projects such as HS2, Thames Tideway and Northern Powerhouse Rail.