Euston station in London is back on the high speed agenda, after the first of two tunnel boring machines began its subterranean journey from Old Oak Common to the Euston Road.

This section has been mired in a controversy which was even greater than over the rest of the project, because when the previous government paused work at Euston it left a desolate worksite, although many local people had already been forced to move.

The government now says the section between west and central London will be ‘essential to unlocking the project’s full economic potential, with estimates from Camden Council suggesting a mix of new homes and commercial development at Euston could add £41 billion to the economy by 2053 and support 34,000 new jobs’.

The revised plans for Euston will be managed by a new body, the Euston Delivery Company. Once established, the Company will lead the creation of an affordable and integrated transport hub including including the new HS2 station, the redevelopment of the existing main line station and upgrades to the London Underground station, along with commercial development.

The chief secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, and rail minister Lord Hendy were at Old Oak Common with HS2’s chief executive officer Mark Wild and Transport for London commissioner Andy Lord, to switch on the 1,624-tonne tunnel boring machine which will excavate a 7.2km tunnel under west London.  

Lord Hendy told reporters that the reduction in the number of platforms at Euston is unlikely to stay at six, having been reduced in the past from 11 and then to 10 as economy measures.

He said: ‘It’s inconceivable that we would build this railway at this level of expense without filling it full of trains to go everywhere in Britain. We do want to connect this railway with the rest of the railways in Britain. I would certainly envisage trains leaving Euston for most of northern England.’

Mark Wild said: ‘On my first day at HS2, I unveiled the Euston TBMs as they were being prepared to build the Euston Tunnel. Just over a year on, we’re beginning to excavate the tunnel – a show of confidence that HS2 will be built into central London and kickstart economic growth.

‘Over the past 12 months, I have been leading a comprehensive reset across HS2 to get it back on track and I am confident that we’re on the right path to delivering HS2 safely and efficiently. The start of tunnelling here today is a part of the strong foundations we can build upon to completing HS2 and deliver better journeys.’

The start of work on tunnelling to central London has come only two weeks or so since the government unveiled the possibility of a new railway between the West Midlands and Manchester, alongside its plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The new railway would occupy land which had already been bought between the West Midlands and Crewe for HS2 before this section was cancelled by Rushi Sunak. Such a line would be a long-term project, and the technical specifications, including the maximum speed, have not been decided, although the government did say that ‘it will not be a revival of HS2’.

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