Government to fund HS2 tunnelling work to Euston

The Government is “committing the funding required” to begin tunnelling work to bring HS2 to London Euston station, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has announced.

Ms Reeves said in her Budget speech this will encourage private investment in the area.

In October last year, then-prime minister Rishi Sunak announced that extending HS2 from Old Oak Common, in the suburbs of west London, to Euston, near the centre of the capital, was reliant on private investment.

This was aimed at saving £6.5 billion of taxpayers’ money.

Major HS2 construction work at a site alongside the existing Euston station has been halted since the previous March due to funding doubts.

Ms Reeves said: “We are committing the funding required to begin tunnelling work to London Euston station.

“This will catalyse private investment into the local area, delivering jobs and growth.”

Speaking after the Budget, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: “It would make absolutely no sense to end HS2 in Old Oak Common.

“That’s why this Labour Government is doing the right thing and delivering HS2 to Euston – bringing the line to the heart of the capital.”

The Commons Public Accounts Committee issued a report in February stating it was “highly sceptical” that the Department for Transport would be able to attract private investment on “the scale and speed required” to make extending HS2 to Euston “a success”.

The Euston tunnel will carry HS2 trains between Euston and Old Oak Common, which is a distance of 4.5 miles.

At its deepest point the tunnel will run 50 metres below ground.

It will be bored using two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) launched from the eastern section of Old Oak Common station.

The TBMs will operate 24 hours a day.

In July, HS2 Ltd said tunnelling works would start from 2026 although that was “subject to change”.

Following the Budget announcement, a spokesperson for HS2 Ltd said: “We welcome the commitment from the Government to build HS2 all the way to Euston and will now prepare for construction of the Euston Tunnel.

“Two giant tunnel boring machines are already being assembled at Old Oak Common.

“A terminus station for HS2 in the heart of the capital will provide a vital gateway for passengers travelling to and from the North and Midlands and will lead to the transport-led regeneration of Euston – supporting growth in the local economy and creating thousands of new homes and jobs.”