Transport
secretary


Louise
Haigh
has
raised
hopes
that
the
high
speed
link
between
Old
Oak
Common
and
London
Euston
could
be
back
on
the
agenda.

She
has
told
Times
Radio
that
an
announcement
about
the
Euston
section
could
be
included
in
the
budget
speech
on
30
October.

Ms
Haigh
said:
‘We’ve
said
before
that
Euston
was
always
planned
to
be
part
of
the
picture
for
HS2.
We’re
hoping
to
make
an
announcement
on
that
soon.’

Meanwhile,
Ms
Haigh
has
been
advised
by
the
High
Speed
Rail
Group
that
completing
HS2
to
Euston
and
also
restoring
the
section
between
the
West
Midlands
and
Crewe,
for
which
land
has
already
been
bought,
could
make
the
line
much
more
valuable
to
a
potential
concession-holder.

The
Group,
which
includes
major
contractors
like
Hitachi,
Alstom
and
Siemens
and
is
supported
by
the
high
speed
rail
lobby
group
Greengauge21,
says
the
full
route
could
be
worth
£20
billion
to
a
leaseholder,
but
much
less
if
the
line
only
connects
Old
Oak
Common
with
Birmingham,
and
that
the
difference
could
more
than
pay
for
the
Euston
section.

HS1
is
already
leased
to
a
consortium
of
investors
until
2040,
although
the
Government
is
the
ground
landlord
and
the
line
itself
has
not
been
sold.
A
similar
arrangement
for
HS2
could
appeal
to
the
Treasury. 

The
work
at
Old
Oak
Common
towards
Euston
is
currently
on
hold,
pending
a
decision
about
the
future
of
the
link,
but
two
tunnel
boring
machines
have
already
arrived
from
Germany.

HSRG
chair
Dyan
Perry
is
quoted
by
the
Guardian
as
saying:
‘Short-term
decisions
to
cut
investment
into
infrastructure
would
be
deeply
damaging
to
the
UK,
creating
uncertainty
and
jeopardising
investor
confidence.

’We
strongly
urge
Treasury
officials
to
carefully
consider
our
recommendations
and
take
action
to
ensure
the
UK
can
fully
realise
the
benefits
of
a
connected
rail
network.’

Meanwhile,
Network
Rail
has
announced
a
five-point
plan
to
improve
the
present
Euston,
which
was
opened
in
1969
but
is
now
handling
many
more
passengers
than
for
which
it
was
designed,
leading
to
overcrowding.
Performance
problems
on
the
West
Coast
Main
Line
can
make
matters
worse,
and
one
of
Network
Rail’s
priorities
is
to
improve
the
route.

The
other
four
are
a
review
of
passenger
information
displays,
better
messages
to
passengers
when
trains
are
ready
for
boarding,
increasing
the
amount
of
space
on
the
concourse
and
easing
pinch-points,
and
making
sure
that
the
various
parties
who
contribute
to
the
functioning
of
Euston
work
together
more
effectively.

Overhead
advertising
boards
have
already
been
switched
off,
while
their
future
is
assessed.

Network
Rail
West
Coast
South
route
director
Gary
Walsh
said:
‘Our
five-point
plan
will
help
improve
things
for
passengers
in
the
short
term
by
creating
more
space,
providing
better
passenger
information,
and
working
as
an
industry
to
improve
the
reliability
of
train
services
on
the
West
Coast
Main
Line.’