At last common-sense thinking is back - and HS2 looks set to reach Euston

It was first suggested in today’s Guardian, but a later it was more or less confirmed, in my view, that HS2 will connect with Euston after all, writes Malcolm Prentice.

The source for this was none other than Louise Haigh MP, the transport secretary, who was speaking on Times Radio today and hinted that the final stretch taking the line into the centre of London will be announced in the Budget at the end of the month.

It was always inconceivable to me that HS2 would not reach Euston and would instead terminate at Old Oak Common, outside the capital.

This was suggested earlier this year when previous Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the scheme would be radically cut down to save money, having already gone over budget, which could no longer stretch to tunnelling through to central London.

Gone was the link to the North beyond Birmingham, taking with it the key Northern cities’ dreams of having a high-speed link to London.

And gone, in fact, was having a meaningful link with London at all, unless you count Old Oak Common which is currently a huge goods yard some 34 miles from Euston.

Tantalisingly close, of course, but while it might make a useful stop, it’s next to useless for anyone who arrived in the capital on the Eurostar and wanted an easy change to take them northwards.

It still baffles me that ending the line there was ever a consideration. You almost get the sense that, within the M25 bubble, they had no concept that HS2 actually existed, but I only have to travel around the Midlands roads, for example the A38 near Lichfield, not too far from our HQ to see that HS2 is there, taking shape.

The money on buying the properties in order to access the land has been spent. The machines are hard at work, the bridges are being built.

There is no going back, so whatever we end up with, has to make sense. Ending it at Old Oak Common was simply illogical.

So it’s heartening to hear that Louise Haigh agrees with me. This morning she spoke about how the new Government would take the scheme forward and that it would make an announcement on it “soon”.

When pressed, she neither confirmed denied that it would come around the time of the Budget.

Her comments came in the wake of a report from the High Speed Rail Group, as published by the ?saying how, in its view, spending extra money to link HS2 from Euston to Crewe could be made to pay for itself in the long run.

This is thinking that I can get behind and it’s refreshing that the HS2 decision is being looked at afresh. It makes me feel that decisions are once again being taken based on common-sense and maybe it also shows that the country is able to invest in its infrastructure.

Quite simply, we need HS2. We can’t increase the size of trains on our tracks but we can increase the speed they travel at. And HS2 will create space on the network for freight, which is so rarely ever part of the conversation but which is vital to the future of rail.

But, inevitably, HS2 is still about getting people around the country on trains. The post-COVID rail passenger figures tell us that, despite the widespread use of video conferencing, that people still like to do business face to face.

And, for people heading to London to go to see a show or for a social event, getting there by train is part of the experience.

At least it should be, because it’s clear the network needs investment to improve the service.

And so I’m pleased to hear that we have some fresh thinking on HS2 and everyone agrees that that it might go into London Euston after all and not end in a vast, empty sidings that makes no sense at all.