HS2 confirms Euston station delays

Work on the 7.2 km tunnel between Euston and Old Oak Common will not start in 2024 as initially planned. 

Confirmation of the delays follows the government’s recent ‘uncertainty’ of HS2 terminating at Euston and the two-year delay of the Birmingham to Crewe section. 

HS2 have confirmed that the preparation works for the two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) that will build the tunnel will continue. 

A joint venture between Skanska, Costain and Strabag (SCS) is leading the construction of the Euston tunnel as part of its main works civils contract. 

This week, the SCS JV has gone ahead with the preparatory work for the Atlas Road logistics tunnel that will run between Old Oak Common station and a logistics hub at Atlas Road in North Action, reported Ground Engineering. 

A third TBM has been launched to carry out the project. 

Inside the tunnel 

This 853m tunnel will be used to deliver materials and remove spoil from the northern portal where the Euston tunnel will be constructed. 

The TBM for this tunnel, named Lydia, will spend the next six months digging the tunnel to Old Oak Common. 

In the process: 

• The tunnel will use 4,264 concrete segments, each weighing over 3t, forming 533 tunnel rings. These have been produced by Pacadar. 
• A conveyor will take the excavated clay to HS2’s London logistics hub at Willesden Euro Terminal. 
• This clay will then be taken by train for reuse at sites in Kent, Cambridgeshire, and Rugby. 

The tunnel will carry 8010 segment rings that will be used to construct the Euston tunnel. 

HS2 costs

Last month, SCS JV were awarded an extra £78 million for the Euston tunnel, valuing their contract at £1.2 billion, reported Ground Engineering.  

Though the cost of the Euston section has doubled to £4.8 billion since 2020, the extra cost falls within HS2’s £44.6 billion budget for phase one. 

HS2 confirmed the delays on the Euston tunnel to Construction Wave, and expects further information from the government in the coming weeks. 

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