HS2 will reach Euston – and the London Underground and the DLR are also expected to benefit from the Budget.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed funding for the high-speed rail route to be tunnelled all the way to Euston, removing the fear that Old Oak Common, in north west London, would be the line’s southern terminus.
Though she did not mention it in her Budget address, Ms Reeves has also allocated £485 million to Transport for London to spend on major “capital renewal” projects in 2025-26.
This includes money already committed for a new fleet of trains on the Piccadilly line and 10 extra trains for the Elizabeth line, to boost capacity once Old Oak Common station opens at the end of the decade.
However funding for the construction of a HS2 station at Euston – to be built alongside the existing mainline station – remains unclear, as does the timeline for the line to reach central London.
The Treasury said the previous target of HS2 services arriving at Euston by 2041 is no longer correct.
Ms Reeves told the Commons: “We are committing the funding required to begin tunnelling work to London Euston station.”
Budget documents state the the Government was “confirming funding to tunnel from Old Oak Common to Euston to ensure HS2 trains terminate in central London, catalysing private investment into the station and local area”.
The documents added: “Investment at Euston will be further supported through the appointment of Bek Seeley to chair the Euston Housing Delivery Group, to drive forward an ambitious housing and regeneration initiative for the local area.”
A spokesman for HS2 Ltd said: “We welcome the commitment from the Government to build HS2 all the way to Euston and will now prepare for construction of the Euston Tunnel.
“Two giant tunnel boring machines are already being assembled at Old Oak Common to dig the 4.5 miles of undergrond high-speed railway that will carry HS2 trains into central London.
“A terminus station for HS2 in the heart of the capital will provide a vital gateway for passengers travelling to and from the North and Midlands and will lead to the transport-led regeneration of Euston.”
The previous Tory government said the HS2 station at Euston would only be built with a combination of public and private sector funding.
The confirmation that the route will extend to Euston - via twin-bore tunnels to be dug by contractor Skanska Costain Strabag - is seen as vital to attract investment in the new station.
It will also prevent the tunnel boring machines – which are being lowered into the ground at Old Oak Common, in preparation for making the dig south – getting “stuck” in the ground.
There is also a need for the tunnel to Euston to be complete before the station can be built.
The last Government ordered HS2 work at Euston to halt in spring 2023, since when the site has been largely mothballed. Work to remobilise the site for tunnelling will commence.
City Hall said the £485m for TfL could also help to fund new trains and depots on the Docklands Light Railway, though this is currently delayed, upgrades to District and Metropolitan line signalling, new trams in Croydon, improving the A40 Westway and potentially helping it to place an order for new Bakerloo line trains – though further funds would be required to replace the 50-year-old fleet.
Mayor Sadiq Khan, said: “Substantial additional funding for TfL is fantastic news and will help to support the crucial maintenance, renewal and growth of London’s transport system.
“And after all the dither and delay from the previous Government, confirming that HS2 will terminate at Euston will mean the capital can finally realise the full economic benefits of the project.”
TfL commissioner Andy Lord said: “This investment will ensure that London’s transport network can continue to support new homes, economic growth and productivity in the city.
“Throughout 2022/23 we spent £6.5bn with more than 2,000 suppliers, two-thirds of which were based outside of London. We are pleased that, together with our suppliers, we can move on from the inadequate funding over recent years and get on with the vital work of making our city and our country work for everyone.”
Paul Tuohy, chief executive of the Campaign for Better Transport, said: "It is right that HS2 reaches Euston. Connecting HS2 to London for connections to the European continent and beyond is vital to unlock all of the economic growth that the scheme offers.”
The previous Tory government said last December that it would look to the private sector to help fund the HS2 station at Euston.
Two years ago, images were released of proposals for a £2.6bn HS2 station and revamped Euston Tube station.
The HS2 station was to have the longest concourse in the UK at more than 300 metres, while Euston Tube station would have had a direct underground link with Euston Square station.
The proposed HS2 station was reduced from an original larger proposal with 11 platforms, which would have opened in two stages, to a 10-platform scheme that – at the time - was due for completion between 2031 and 2036.
Last year, the National Audit Office revealed the 10-platform design, which was meant to be cheaper, was now more expensive than the 11-platform original option.
The NAO said the cost of Euston’s HS2 station was estimated at £4.8bn, £2.2bn more than the original budget – and warned the two-year halt to construction work ordered by the Department for Transport in March 2023 was likely to increase costs further.
The NAO report said about £2bn has already been sunk in the project - £548m in the station plus £1.5bn on wider preparatory works across the site, including land purchases and the decanting of hundreds of residents.
HS2 services are due to start running between 2029 and 2033, with a target date of 2030, initially between the new stations at Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street.
HS2 trains were previouly due to arrive at Euston by 2041, but the Treasury says the date is no longer valid as the new Government has yet to “commit” to a new opening date.
Separately, Network Rail has been working for years on the redevelopment of Euston’s mainline station.
In the interim, efforts have been made to tackle overcrowding on the station concourse and to alleviate the so-called “Euston rush” as passengers dash to catch their late-announced trains.
