The new issue of Private Eye, out today, has the following interesting
section on the much-delayed Shepherd's Bush WLL station:

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At the heart of the new £1.6bn mega-development in London, just north
of Shepherd's Bush, there is to be a new railway station on the West
London line. It is a key part of the plan to ensure good public access
to the 300 shops, 14-screen cinema and all the rest of this huge
scheme. All very Green.

The station is virtually complete but surprisingly there is no
announcement about when it will open. Although it should have been
handed over to operators Silverlink at the end of August, the handover
has now been postponed indefinitely. That's because one of the
platforms is 18 inches shorter than the minimum specified by the
Railway Inspectorate. This might not sound like much, but with the
numbers expected to use the station, it is enough to pose a genuine
safety risk.

It might sound simple to resolve, too, with a bit of extra concrete,
but unfortunately there is a huge wall in the way and the estimated
cost is a staggering £7n. The issue is now the subject of a major
dispute between all the players - developer Westfield, Transport for
London and the safety inspectors. There seems no easy resolution, but
someone is going to have to cough up £7m for what will be the most
expensive 18 inches of railway platform in the world.