Delay HS2’s Euston plans, says ex-civil service head

Lord Turnbull has called for HS2's Euston plans to be halted
Grimshaw Architects
Pippa Crerar15 June 2016

HS2 plans for the London terminus at Euston should be put on hold, according to the former head of the civil service.

Lord Turnbull, who was Cabinet secretary under Tony Blair, said plans for the new high-speed rail link should be “scaled down” to minimise disruption to residents.

In a letter to transport minister Lord Ahmad, he warned that the existing proposals would lead to a “quite unacceptable” level of disruption and damage for Camden residents for up to 20 years.

It comes as local campaigners expressed concern that Sadiq Khan could be rowing back on his call for a fundamental rethink of Euston as the high-speed railway’s final terminus.

After winning power, the Mayor said he had concerns about whether Euston was the right station for the London terminus of HS2.

But after a meeting this week with HS2 chairman David Higgins to discuss the plans, Mr Khan said Crossrail would not be too overcrowded if trains terminated there permanently.

Mr Khan told LBC radio yesterday: “The good news is that HS2 get it and HS2 want to work with the council, with local residents, to make sure they do right by Euston, the residents around there as well.”

However, Lord Turnbull said the best solution was still for trains to stop at the Old Oak interchange in West London, until plans for the last four miles of track were redrawn so HS2 could tackle the issues.

He added: “This would give time for the design problems at Euston to be sorted out and would make the construction work at Euston, once a better plan has been agreed, easier to undertake.”

In the longer term, he said that some of the trains could stop at the interchange — meaning Crossrail would have capacity to cope — while others could run on to Euston as originally planned.

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