HS2 to bury diggers ready to bore tunnel to Euston

Engineers building HS2 are to put two large diggers in the ground to prepare to bore a tunnel to Euston - despite doubts over whether it will be built.

The new high-speed rail line between London and Birmingham was originally intended to run into Euston, but will at first stop at Old Oak Common.

The last section of the line to Euston is on hold, due to spiralling costs.

However, engineers will put the enormous boring machines into position under Old Oak Common station next year.

The diggers will be positioned underground so that tunnelling work can be carried out immediately if ministers approve the continuation of the route to Euston.

In March, Transport Secretary Mark Harper announced that work on a new station at Euston would be paused for two years as predicted costs had almost doubled to £4.8bn.

When the first passengers are due to board trains, between 2029-2031, they will have to change on to the Elizabeth Line to reach central London.

HS2 project manager for Old Oak Common, Huw Edwards, said once that station is built, it will be too late to put the diggers into the ground, as new tracks are to be built above them.

He said "nothing" his construction team was doing would "preclude continuation of the railway to the destination that we all want, which is Euston".

"We cannot wait, otherwise we would not be able to open the widened conventional station," Mr Edwards added.

The two boring machines will be named and blessed in a Christian ceremony - with a statue of St Barbara, the patron saint of tunnelling, before they are lowered into a deep chamber next year and covered over to await their potential dig towards Euston.

With the diggers potentially due to be stored for years, engineers will routinely carry out maintenance on the two heavyweight machines.

The HS2 project has been beset with spiralling costs and delays and trains are now not expected to run to Euston until 2041 at the earliest.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is committed to delivering the Euston terminal despite reports earlier this year suggesting Old Oak Common could become the permanent London terminus.

Old Oak Common, which has a £2.5bn budget, will be the UK's largest newly built railway station when opened.

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