Professor Andrew Whittle has been appointed to a review panel by the Hong Kong government looking into delays associated with the $6 billion construction of the new high-speed rail line, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL). The Hong Kong portion of the rail line was scheduled for completion in 2015, but has been delayed by more than two years. Whittle will serve on the three-person independent expert panel with Justice Michael Hartmann of the Hong Kong judiciary and Peter Hansford, chief construction adviser to the U.K. government.