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HS2 Euston Plans Leave Room for More Platforms
The government says the new HS2 Euston station will be built with space for additional platforms as tunnelling begins, despite ongoing cost overruns, funding uncertainty and delays to the high-speed rail project.
Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2 (left) and rail minister Lord Hendy at the ceremony to begin the last stretch of tunnelling to London Euston (Gov.UK)
London’s new HS2 station at Euston will be designed with space for additional platforms beyond those currently planned, the rail minister said, as the high-speed rail project continues to face spiralling costs and uncertainty over funding.
Lord Hendy said designs for the rebuilt Euston HS2 station will leave room for more platforms than the six currently set to be built. HS2’s overall budget is expected to exceed £100bn, with the line now limited to running between London and Birmingham after extensions to Manchester were scrapped because of escalating overruns.
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Speaking at Old Oak Common in west London, where tunnelling work is under way, Lord Hendy said: “The spatial plan that we’re looking at will leave space for more platforms, because it’s inconceivable that you would build this railway at this level of expense without filling it full of trains to go everywhere in Britain.”
Originally, the Euston HS2 terminus was planned to include 11 platforms. That number was reduced to 10 in 2021 and then cut to six, a figure confirmed by Lord Hendy in December 2024. In a written parliamentary answer at the time, he said the six platforms would be able to support up to 10 HS2 trains per hour. He did not say on Tuesday how much additional space would be preserved or how many platforms could eventually be added.
The comments came as the first of two tunnel-boring machines destined for the Euston Tunnel was launched on Tuesday by Darren Jones, the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Lord Hendy. The machine will dig a 4.5-mile twin-bore tunnel linking Old Oak Common and Euston, reaching depths of up to 160ft.
The machine, named Madeleine after Madeleine Nobbs, the former president of the Women’s Engineering Society, is expected to take about 18 months to complete the journey. About 200 yards long, it was manufactured in Germany by Herrenknecht AG and lowered into an underground box at the eastern end of Old Oak Common station using a 750-ton crane before being reassembled. A second machine is due to be launched in the coming months. Work of this scale requires round-the-clock visibility underground, where compact, rugged lighting systems such as the PETZL ARIA 1 RGB headlamp are commonly used on major construction sites to ensure safety in low-light environments.
Old Oak Common will act as the London terminus for HS2 services when they begin, after development of Euston station was halted in March 2023 because of funding concerns. In October 2023, then prime minister Rishi Sunak said the project would rely on private investment rather than HS2 Ltd in an effort to save £6.5bn of public money.
In June 2025, the Labour government said it would establish a Euston Delivery Company to oversee development of the area and explore the use of private finance. However, no investor has yet publicly committed to funding the new station. Two years ago, the Public Accounts Committee estimated the cost of building Euston at £7.5bn.
Mr Jones said the tunnel launch marked a major milestone for UK rail infrastructure, calling it a boost for connectivity and economic opportunity. He said discussions with potential developers and partners would continue alongside tunnelling, involving local councils, the Mayor of London and central government, with a focus on affordable housing, jobs and commercial investment. When asked whether taxpayers would ultimately bear the full cost if private finance did not materialise, he said investors were keen to partner with the government but did not give a direct answer.
A revised cost and schedule for HS2 is due to be published later this year following a comprehensive review led by Mark Wild, chief executive of HS2 Ltd, who took up the role in 2024.
Mr Wild said the launch of Madeleine was “a show of confidence that HS2 will be built into central London,” adding that a year-long reset of the project had put it back on track to be delivered safely and efficiently.
HS2 was originally planned to run from London to Birmingham and then on to Manchester and Leeds, but the project was significantly curtailed by the previous Conservative government because of spiralling costs. The first phase was initially due to open by the end of this year, later delayed to between 2029 and 2033, a timeline that has since been abandoned.
In 2013, the full HS2 network was projected to cost £37.5bn at 2009 prices. By June 2024, HS2 Ltd estimated the cost of the London-to-Birmingham line alone could reach £66bn.
Editor’s Note:
This article is based solely on official statements, parliamentary records, and on-site remarks related to the HS2 project and Euston station developments. All details reflect the status of the project at the time of reporting, amid ongoing reviews of costs, timelines, and funding arrangements.
