Tunnelling to HS2 station at Euston to start next year

HS2 is hoping to start tunnelling work from Old Oak Common station to the mothballed Euston station next year.

A team featuring Costain, Skanska and Austrian firm Strabag has begun work to tunnel the route from West Ruislip to Old Oak Common – which is where HS2 trains will terminate in the capital when the railway first opens.

But the same London tunnels team, officially called SCS, is expected to start the tunnel drive to Euston in 2025.

Costain chief executive Alex Vaughan said the team had been told work will start next year and a HS2 spokesperson confirmed: “Two TBMs will be delivered to Old Oak Common later this year, and placed into the underground box, ready to begin boring the Euston Tunnel.”

The Euston scheme was mothballed last March by transport secretary Mark Harper because of concerns about rising costs.

But a host of industry bosses have said not building a station at Euston makes no sense. Last week, Keller chief executive Michael Speakman called the move “bonkers” and Vaughan said: “The economic case [to build the HS2 station at Euston] is massive. Look at King’s Cross and all of that redevelopment.”

The HS2 job at Euston station is set to be built by a joint venture of Mace and Spanish contractor Dragados.

A report published last week said that the regeneration of Euston station will contribute £41bn to the UK economy by 2053 and create 34,000 new jobs.

The research, conducted by Metro Dynamics and commissioned by Camden council, the London borough in which Euston is situated, said redevelopment work would also be a boost to London’s Knowledge Quarter.

Council leader Georgia Gould said: “The regeneration of Euston can also be a catalyst for the rapid expansion of London’s Knowledge Quarter into a tech and science powerhouse that generates investment and opportunity for the entire country.

“Not only is Euston essential to the success of HS2 but it is a once in a generation opportunity to put innovation firmly at the forefront of Britain’s new economy, with better connected tech and science hubs in London, Birmingham and beyond delivering new growth and jobs across the country.”