A giant 1,600-tonne machine called Madeleine that will bore a tunnel taking HS2 trains into central London has been switched on.
Named after Madeleine Nobbs, the former president of the Women’s Engineering Society, the 190m-long contraption will create a 4.5 mile link connecting Old Oak Common in west London to a proposed expanded station at Euston.
But the design, cost and timescale of the new station are still unknown. Ministers promised an update later this year.
In 2023, work on a new station at Euston to accommodate HS2 was paused so a new “affordable” design could be developed, with former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stating it would need to be funded by private firms, not the taxpayer.
HS2 is expected to initially carry passengers between Birmingham and Old Oak Common, but not by the most recent target date of 2033.
It is still not clear exactly what the new station will look like, or when it will be completed, but the government said taking HS2 to Euston is “essential to unlocking the project’s full economic potential”.
A new body, the Euston Delivery Company, is due to lead delivery of what the government said will be an “affordable and integrated transport hub”.
The Euston Delivery Company has not yet established.
Project leaders and politicians gathered in the underground concrete box which will one day host Old Oak Common station, to formally begin the tunnel excavation process.
Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, said that while the tunnel was being bored, potential developers and partners for Euston station would be explored.
The aim is to come up with a package that would be “a mix of public and we hope private investment”, he said, adding it would be “focused on affordable housing and job opportunities as well as the commercial investment”.
Rail Minister Lord Hendy said there should be an update in “the next few months”.
He said previous designs had been “infeasible” and “far too expensive”.
The number of platforms envisaged for HS2’s Euston terminus has shrunk over the years from eleven to six to reduce costs.
Lord Hendy hinted this could change.
He said: “The current design is six but the spatial plan we’re looking at will leave space for more, because it’s inconceivable that you’d build this railway at this level of expense without filling it full of trains to go everywhere in Britain.”
The HS2 project has repeatedly come under fire for ballooning costs and delays.
Mark Wild, the former boss of Crossrail, was brought in to lead HS2 in late 2024 and charged with overseeing a “reset” of the entire high speed railway project between Birmingham and London.
Wild told reporters on Tuesday he was “very nearly there” with his reset. It will then need to be approved by the government.
He said it will provide a new definitive timescale and costs, but only within “a range”. Timing-wise, he thought it would be within the 2030s.
“From the cost range that is in the public domain, we’ve said it will be more money”, but would not answer the question of whether the project could be achieved for under £100bn.
A second machine – called Karen – will be switched on in the coming months. It is named after Karen Harrison, the first female train driver in the UK, who was based out of the Old Oak Common depot in west London.
It is expected to take about 18 months for the machines to complete the journey.
They will excavate and construct the tunnel as they move, slotting concrete segments into place. The tunnel will reach depths of 50 metres.
Madeleine was built in Germany and transported to the UK in parts. A 750-tonne crane lifted the components into an underground box at one end of the station, where it was reassembled.
Jones said: “There’s nothing boring about tunnel boring.
“We’re boosting the links between our big cities across the country to create more opportunities for people to trade, meet and socialise with each other, turning the corner on years of decline.”
Lord Hendy said the machines were “an engineering marvel” and “brings HS2’s journey to Euston another step closer to reality”.
HS2 has been beleaguered by delays and setbacks and the cost has snowballed to at least £80bn.
There have been reports the project could cost £100bn, even after the legs to Manchester and Leeds were scrapped.
One of the most expensive aspects of HS2 has been the need for tunnels. The track from London to Birmingham needs to be as straight as possible to allow for high speed.
Objections from local residents and the need to protect areas of outstanding natural beauty through which the route runs have pushed up costs.
The first phase of the project was initially scheduled to open by the end of this year.
This was pushed back to between 2029 and 2033, but it has since been confirmed that that deadline will also be missed.
