Nils Pratley is far too pessimistic and negative (Euston is a problem without a good solution, 7 October). The lessons from the HS2 Euston saga are that: 1) as a nation we should decide what we want; 2) we should stick to that plan and get on with it, without incessant changes involving lawyers and circuitous consultations; and 3) ultimately, you get what you pay for.
St Pancras, King’s Cross and Paddington didn’t come cheap in the 19th century. But no one today is going around saying they were bad schemes and they should have settled for a collection of tin shacks. Waterloo in the late 19th century was an utter mess, but the directors of the London and South Western Railway had the courage to visit the US, check out best practice there, and do a total rebuild, though they did compromise by using part of an existing roof (eventually knocked down for Eurostar) for their platforms 16 to 21. Today’s Euston is popularly remembered for the loss of the Euston arch, but the real mistakes were the concrete-slab roof over the platforms (no development above them but no natural light either) and the mean and cramped concourse and hopelessly inadequate London Underground hall. Euston would certainly have to be rebuilt even without HS2, and probably still cost between £1bn and £2bn.
Spending £4.8bn for a new Euston with 10 new HS2 platforms would be pretty much the going rate. And if it is done well, it will be good for another century.
David Thrower
Stockton Heath, Cheshire
Prof Ian Wray
Oxton, Wirral
• In the 1980s, I bought shares in Eurotunnel (now Getlink SE, which runs LeShuttle), tempted by the promise of nearly free travel to France for a car and my family. I think I invested £400 at the time, a big chunk of my student savings, and I had a long time to wait as it was only in 1994 that the tunnel opened, and that I could enjoy on return trip every year for €1 each way. I benefited from this perk for 10 years, a much greater benefit and pleasure than gains in the wildly fluctuating share price.
A similar scheme could be used to raise private funding for HS2. Many UK residents could be happy to invest in it for the promise of free or cheap and fast travel. Say £1,000 invested to purchase HS2 shares with the perk of one return trip per year for £1 each way, for five years? I would be keen to participate.
Mike Ferenczi
London
• The extension of HS2 into Euston would transform an expensive white elephant into a useful part of our rail system (Transport secretary ‘seriously looking at’ extending HS2 rail line to Euston, 9 October). It also presents the opportunity to turn a nightmare of a station into one of which we could be proud. Nothing would mark this more effectively than the rebuilding of the Euston arch, the beautiful Doric propylaeum designed in 1837 by Philip Hardwick. Its unnecessary demolition in the 1960s was an act of wanton vandalism, approved by Harold Macmillan simply to demonstrate his commitment to things modern. But most of its sandstone blocks, located in the East End, are recoverable and in good condition, and the Euston Arch Trust has practical plans for its reconstruction. It could stand as a magnificent symbol of the nation’s pride in the renewal of its railways.
Francis Bown
London
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