Ten high-speed platforms confirmed for Euston HS2 station.
EUSTON’S high-speed station is set to have only ten platforms rather than the expected 11, according to HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Mark Thurston.
In a question and answer session at the National Rail Recovery Conference on February 23, he said: “It will be ten platforms - that’s 16 trains per hour.
“The modelling shows you could run 17tph, but that will also include a grade-separated junction which means we take the flat junction out and remove the conflicts.”
Asked by RAIL if the decision had been confirmed, a Department for Transport spokesman said: “Work is ongoing to develop an optimised design and delivery strategy for Euston station, which considers opportunities and efficiencies. This includes exploring the potential for a slightly smaller single-stage build, which could help reduce costs and risks.
“This work will inform the final design, although no final decisions have been taken yet.”
An HS2 spokesman said: “As we refine the designs for Euston station we are looking at all available options.
The decision has not yet been taken and the Government will set out its plans in due course.”
RAIL understands that the ultimate decision will be made in the delayed Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), which is due for publication in the coming weeks.
Robert Nisbet, Rail Delivery Group Director of Nations and Regions, said: “As the only shovel-ready project that can deliver a step change in capacity and connectivity on the railway, completing
HS2 in full will be vital as more people travel after the pandemic, spreading economic growth across the country and helping Britain reach its emissions targets.”
He warned: “Dialling back ambitions now could end up costing more in the long term, not only for public finances but also in lost benefits for the economy and the environment.”
At the NRRC, Thurston
(pictured) explained: “All the work we’ve done concluded that is the optimum solution when you trade capital costs and long-term costs.
“We have to remember that the other thing we’re doing is looking at Euston as one whole campus, so we’re working very closely with Network Rail.
“This is a station in its final form that could have 26 platforms [including the existing station] that are serving both the existing and high-speed network.”
Discussing the impact of Phase 2a (West Midlands-Crewe), Thurston said that when that opens - which is due to be at the same time as Phase 1 (LondonWest Midlands) in 2029-33 - HS2 “then very much becomes a spine that’s an integral part of the existing rail network”.
He added: “Then I think in essence you’re not just resetting the West Coast Main Line timetable, you’re resetting the national timetable. And then you have some choices about how you deploy local, regional and high-speed services in and out of London.
“The modelling we’ve done thus far says that ten platforms give you more than enough choice. And that’s making some assumptions that you’re going to flight trains up an eastern leg [Phase 2b, West Midlands-East Midlands/Leeds], and an eastern leg decision still hasn’t come forward.”
Thurston also told the NRRC that HS2 is the most important economic regeneration project in decades
He said that during the peak of construction in two to three years’ time, HS2 will support 30,000 jobs plus many more in the supply chain.
He added that all contracts for Phase 1 (London-West Midlands) would be awarded by June 2023.
“We are creating something the industry really needs - a solid pipeline of construction activity and a clear timetable for investment,” he said.
“We have 20 years of construction ahead of us to take the route all the way into Manchester and beyond. This is giving a level of certainty to the industry for that investment in jobs and skills.”
As for other facilities on the route, Thurston said: “Investment around stations will act as a catalyst of growth and help level up the country.”
Areas around Interchange and Curzon Street stations in Birmingham are set to become two of the best-connected and most productive areas of the UK, he said, while Old Oak Common is the UK’s largest regeneration scheme and could add some £7 billion to the UK economy.