Extending HS2 into central London is “obvious”, the rail minister said as two new tunnelling machines were unveiled.
Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill said the long-running project needed to get on to a “stable footing” as he revealed the two new tunnel boring machines (TBMs) which will build the pair of 4.5-mile tunnels from Old Oak Common station to Euston station.
In the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the Government would be “committing the funding required” to begin the tunnelling work, which would start from 2026.
It came after the previous Conservative government said the extension was reliant on private investment, in a bid to save £6.5 billion of taxpayers’ money, and the Government’s infrastructure tsar warned the “real challenge” was developing Euston station.
Major HS2 construction work at a site alongside the existing station has been halted since March 2023 due to funding doubts.
On Monday, the rail minister said: “The last government left this project with the railway finishing at Old Oak Common, well outside the centre of London, with everybody at least in theory having to change to go into central London.
“It’s obvious that a new high-speed railway across England should get into Euston.
“It’s not surprising that people are worried about the project. Suddenly the previous prime minister announced it would be curtailed.”
It will take 18 months for the TBMs to dig the final 4.5 miles of underground railway, with the machines operating 24 hours a day.
In the past six months, two launch chambers have been built to facilitate the 190-metre-long TBMs.
The machines were built by specialists in Germany, taken apart, and then reassembled by engineers at the Old Oak Common site.
The 1,250 tonne machines have been named after prominent women in history.
The first is named Karen after Karen Harrison, the first female train driver in the UK, who was based out of Old Oak Common depot.
The second is Madeleine, after Madeleine Nobbs, the former president of the Women’s Engineering Society.
Monday also marked the first day of new chief executive Mark Wild, who is tasked with overseeing HS2’s transition from a construction programme to a working railway.
Lord Hendy added: “I think we’ve got to get it (HS2) back on a stable footing that’s what Mark Wild is going to do.
“He’s going to work out how long it’s going take, how much it’s going to cost and when it opens, and I’ll believe him and so should everyone else when he’s done it.”
Huw Edwards, stations delivery director for HS2 Ltd, said: “2025 is going to be the year for HS2. We’ve had a series of issues in the past, a loss of political support, the change of government gave a level of instability.
“But for me what we’re seeing now is a different HS2 organisation than we were a year ago, we’ve got a much leaner organisation.”
