HS2 Ltd has celebrated the launch of the project’s latest tunnel boring machine (TBM), which has started its passage from Old Oak Common toward Euston station – marking a key milestone in the delivery of the new, high-speed rail line.
The portion of the route itself has been deemed ‘essential’ by the Government as it allegedly stands to add up to 41 billion GBP to the economy by 2053 via the construction of a wealth of new homes and associated commercial development.
The first of two HS2 tunnel boring machines has begun journey from Old Oak Common to Euston station
© HS2 Ltd
The project, which will support up to 34,000 jobs; comes following the completion of 23 miles of tunnels, 19 bridges and two viaducts along the route from central London to Birmingham.
Today, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, and the Rail Minister, Lord Hendy visited Old Oak Common station alongside the Chief Executive Officer of HS2 Ltd, Mark Wild, and Transport for London Commissioner, Andy Lord, to switch on the large tunnel boring machine, which is planned to excavate a 4.5-mile tunnel between the two stations.
Slotting concrete segments into place as it travels along its route; the TBM has been named Madeleine after the former president of the Women’s Engineering Society, Madeleine Nobbs, and is one of two machines set to construct the two parallel tunnels to Euston.
Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said:
It was brilliant to switch on the tunnel boring machine at Old Oak Common today – not just because it’s an engineering marvel – but because it brings HS2’s journey to Euston another step closer to reality.
We’re putting HS2 back on track, and taking the railway into central London is crucial to unlocking its full potential to deliver more jobs, more homes, and a long-term boost to the whole British economy.
The milestone comes as HS2 Ltd’s new CEO Mark Wild begins to lead a comprehensive reset of HS2 as a whole, which aims to ensure the delivery of a new railway connecting London and Birmingham at ‘the lowest reasonable cost’.
Delivery of the Government’s plans for Euston will be taken forward by a new body – the Euston Delivery Company. Once fully established, the Company will lead the delivery of an integrated transport hub, which will include the new HS2 station, redevelopment of the existing station and upgrades to the London Underground station, as well as commercial development across the wider Euston campus itself.