Bringing HS2 to Euston will want ‘compromise’ says minister
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xtending HS2 to Euston will contain “careful prioritisation of requirements” and “compromise”, the rail minister has warned.
Huw Merriman advised MPs the Government is utilizing the two-year suspension of labor on the north London station to “develop a more affordable scheme” for the high-speed railway.
The Government introduced in February that it was pausing HS2 work at Euston as a result of prices had ballooned to £4.8 billion in contrast with an preliminary price range of £2.6 billion.
In a written assertion to Parliament, Mr Merriman stated: “The station is not affordable at this cost, nor, in any case, does the Government have the financial headroom to proceed with the construction over the next two years.
“We will, therefore, use the time to look again at the Euston station design to ensure it delivers for passengers, the local community and taxpayers.
“This will include considering how we might partner with the private sector to capture benefits for customers.
“It will require careful prioritisation of requirements and a willingness from stakeholders to compromise.”
Mr Merriman added that he visited the Euston website in April and “saw for myself the challenges of constructing a complex station in a dense urban environment”.
The mission entails integrating HS2 companies with the present mainline railway and London Underground.
HS2 trains are actually not anticipated to run in to Euston till 2041 on the earliest after initially being scheduled for 2026.
Mr Merriman wrote that revised schedules might be confirmed as soon as plans for Euston have been redeveloped.
A price range of £55.7 billion for the entire HS2 mission was set in 2015.
But the goal value excluding the japanese leg of Phase 2b from the West Midlands to the East Midlands has soared to between £53 billion and £61 billion (at 2019 costs).