HS2 ‘well beyond point of no return’ as first high-speed tunnels are dug in London

Parts of Euston Road to be closed from early next year for construction work
London Crawling: HS2 tunnel boring machines will dig from West Drayton towards central London
HS2
Ross Lydall @RossLydall12 October 2022

The HS2 high-speed line is “well beyond the point of no return” and has fantastic momentum as tunnelling begins in London, its chief executive has insisted.

Mark Thurston said the launch of the first of the tunnel boring machines in the capital was a key moment in delivering the route’s first section that will link London with Birmingham.

The Government is reportedly reconsidering the future of HS2, which will cost up to £74bn to complete, as it seeks to cut public spending and honour Prime Minister Liz Truss’s pledge to restore the Northern Powerhouse Rail project, which would link Liverpool and Leeds via Manchester.

Mr Thurston told the Standard: “In terms of the momentum of the project, starting these machines is another contribution to [being] well beyond the point of no return. We need to get on and make this project a success and build it between London and Birmingham.

“Those countries that have invested in high speed rail systems have never regretted it. It will put massive capacity into the existing network, which frankly we have not built north of London since Victorian times.

“It gives us a chance to get cars and freight off our roads and people out of domestic airplanes. As a project that is going to add to us becoming a net-zero country, I think HS2 will always [be worth it].”

Phase one of HS2, between Old Oak Common and Birmingham, is due to open around 2030. The link to Euston, where a 10-platform HS2 station is being built, is due to open between 2031 and 2035.

Two 140m-long, 2,000-tonne tunnel boring machines will dig five miles of tunnels from West Ruislip to Greenford.

Naming rights: HS2 chief exec Mark Thurston, right, with design and technology teacher Sushila Hirani, centre
HS2

The first, named Sushila after west London design and technology teacher Sushila Hirani, began digging last Thursday. A second, named Caroline, after the first woman astronomer Caroline Herschel, will be launched in a fortnight. Eventually six machines will dig 26 miles of tunnels under London.

At Euston, a new ticket hall will be built, connecting Euston and Euston Square stations. Parts of Euston Road, between Eversholt Street and North Gower Street, will be closed from early next year to allow utilities to be diverted but space will be retained for four lanes of traffic.

Mr Thurston said: “Inevitably it’s going to be disruptive. The long game for Camden is that we will transform that part of London in the fullness of time.

“Our job for the next few years is to be as sympathetic and careful as we can in working with the residents and the local authority and local businesses to make sure they are there when we complete the project.”

The HS2 route was originally proposed as a “Y” shape – with the western branch going to Manchester and the eastern branch to Leeds.

But the Government abandoned plans to take it to Leeds last November – with the line instead only reaching East Midlands Parkway station. There is also “some uncertainty” about how far north the western branch will go, according to the House of Commons library.

Royal assent was gained 18 months ago to take it from Birmingham to Crewe but the Bill to authorise the Crewe to Manchester section is currently being considered by Parliament, a process expected to take three years.

The London to Birmingham section is currently scheduled to be completed by 2033. The Birmingham to Crewe section should open between 2030 and 2034 and Crewe to Manchester between 2035 and 2041.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the new transport secretary, visited the HS2 site in Birmingham prior to the Tory party conference. “She is very enthusiastic about the project,” Mr Thurston said.

“We have got fantastic momentum, and I’m sure she will understand that in the fullness of time.”

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