Transport secretary Louise Haigh has hinted that HS2 is likely to reach London’s Euston station ahead of an announcement she said would be coming soon.
The Cabinet minister said an announcement on the project could occur during the Budget on Wednesday, 30 October.
Speaking to Times Radio this morning, Haigh said: “We’ve said before that Euston was always planned to be part of the picture for HS2. We’re hoping to make an announcement on that soon.”
Asked by the broadcaster if it was affordable for HS2 to reach Euston, Haigh – the Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley – replied: “We will be making an announcement on that soon.”
“But it certainly would never have made sense to leave it between Old Oak Common and Birmingham.”
Pressed on whether the announcement may come in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first Budget at the end of the month, she said: “It may be made around those decisions.”
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, aimed at saving £6.5bn of taxpayers’ money.
Major HS2 construction work at a site alongside the existing station has been halted since March due to doubts about funding.
The Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) issued a report in February stating it was “highly sceptical” that the Department for Transport (DfT) would be able to attract private investment on “the scale and speed required” to make extending HS2 to Euston a success.
Haigh also stressed that the decision to turn off the huge advertising boards at Euston had proved popular – after rail chiefs faced criticism over the state of the major rail terminal.
“I asked Network Rail to make those changes because the passenger experience was clearly not good enough there and they made the decision to temporarily turn off the advertising boards which has been very popular with customers,” she said.
It comes amid widespread coverage of crowding as passengers at Euston rush down ramps to board trains – with London mayor Sadiq Khan describing it as a “mess” with “concerns of danger”.
While the High Speed Rail Group, a consortium of rail and engineering firms – including Hitachi, Alstom, Siemens and Avanti West Coast – have told ministers building HS2 all the way from London Euston to Crewe could save money by enabling the line to be leased out.
The full route could be worth up to £20bn, but would be a fraction of that value if running from Old Oak Common to Birmingham, their analysis found.