HS2 tunnels will bore to Euston after all

It looks like the HS2 tunnels will end at Euston after all, but at a cost of £1 billion to the UK taxpayer. When Rishi Sunak’s government cut the route of the high-speed rail link back from Manchester to Birmingham, plans for a London terminus at Euston station were paused. For this to go ahead, it (and the track and tunnels between Euston and Old Oak Common in west London) would have to be paid for by private investment. Now the FT reports that Sunak’s government has changed its mind and will give the go-ahead for tunnel boring machines to trundle 5.6 miles from Old Oak Common to Euston, at a speed of around 66cm an hour. Exciting. It’s been suggested that some costs could be clawed back from private investors who would look to build homes, restaurants and shops around a new station they will also fund. The Euston terminus is a no-brainer. Without it, HS2 would be less effective and the already-busy Elizabeth line would be even busier. Even so, if Labour gains power in the next election and inherits a Euston extension project already underway, its leader will find himself presiding over an extension he once said would cause “great destruction and pollution”.