Euston tunnel

Euston tunnel

HS2 route out of Euston via Old Oak Common
Overview
Coordinates	51°32′13″N 0°11′31″W / 51.537°N 0.192°W / 51.537; -0.192
Status	Under construction
System	High Speed 2
Crosses	West London
Start	Euston railway station
End	Old Oak Common railway station
Operation
Traffic	Rail
Technical
Length	4.5 miles (7.2 km)
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrified	25 kV 50 Hz AC
Operating speed	120 km/h (75 mph)
Width	7.55 metres (24.8 ft) (internal)

Euston tunnel is a tunnel currently planned in London that will carry the High Speed 2 (HS2) railway between Euston railway station and Old Oak Common railway station.

Work to prepare the site for construction was undertaken in the late 2010s, such as the clearance of the old carriage sheds near Euston station in 2018. A legal challenge to the tunnel's design was defeated in mid-2020. During October 2020, HS2 Ltd ordered the two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) from Herrenknecht that will excavate the tunnel.

To bring the HS2 high speed line into London, it was decided that a series of twin-bore tunnels underneath the city would be the most practical approach.^[1] These will have a combined total of 26 miles (42 km), roughly equivalent in length to those built for the Crossrail programme. Responsibility for the construction of the section between central London and the M25 has been assigned to HS2's main works contractor, Skanska Costain STRABAG JV. In total, it has been envisaged that ten tunnel boring machines (TBMs) will be used to bore the 64 miles (103 km) of tunnelling along the HS2 route between the West Midlands and London.^[1][2]

During 2018, the disused Euston Downside Carriage Maintenance Depot, close to Euston railway station, was demolished in order to clear space for the future construction work; the tunnel portal of the future Euston tunnel is to be present at this location.^[3]

During 2019, a legal challenge to the design of Euston tunnel was launched by a local resident, alleging failures to address safety concerns;^[4] in June 2020, the High Court dismissed the challenge as "impossible to accept".^[5]

During October 2020, HS2 Ltd signed a contract with the manufacturing group Herrenknecht to build and supply the two TBMs for Euston tunnel.^[1] These are to be custom-designed to suit the local geology, which ground surveys indicated to consist largely of clay and chalk, with which the tunnels are to be bored through.^[1] Delivery of the two TBMs was originally scheduled to take place sometime in late 2021.^[1]

Initial boring was expected to begin in summer 2022, taking two years to complete. Boring is set to proceed on a non-stop working pattern, only shutting down temporarily for Christmas and other bank holidays. During the excavation phase, it has been projected that 1,200,000 cubic metres (42,000,000 cu ft) of spoil (excavated material), weighing 2.46 million tonnes, will be removed by the TBMs.^[6][1] Between August 2021 and December 2033, a portion of London Zoo's car park is to be temporarily borrowed for use by construction vehicles while Euston Tunnel is being built.^[7]

Work was paused in 2023, and was later announced that the line would not be extended into Euston without private funding.^[8][9] The two TBMs needed for the tunnels were lowered into the Old Oak Common station site in summer 2024, awaiting approval for the tunnels, to allow work on the rest of the station to progress.^[10][11]

In the Autumn 2024 budget, funding commitments to complete the tunnelling were made, allowing for preparatory work to be completed by the end of the year and for tunnelling to begin from 2025.^[11]

Euston tunnel will be bored using tunnel boring machines launched from the western entrance, near Old Oak Common railway station.^[1] The tunnel will be 4.5 miles (7.2 km) long, with an internal diameter of 7.55 m (24.8 ft). At its deepest point, the tunnel will run 50 m (160 ft) below ground.^[12]

The pre-cast concrete sections lining the tunnel will be manufactured by Pacadar UK at their factory on the Isle of Grain, Kent.^[6] These sections, each weighing seven tonnes, will be transported to site by rail. In excess of 160,000 cubic metres (5,700,000 cu ft) of concrete has been anticipated to be used to produce these sections.^[6] The use of 3D printing technology will reportedly reduce the amount of concrete used in Euston tunnel in comparison to traditional methods.^[13]

One of the few above-surface elements of the tunnel will be a three-storey building near Euston railway station, adjacent to the existing West Coast Main Line, which will accommodate a 12 m (39 ft) diameter ventilation shaft from the surface to the twin tunnels below; this structure will also facilitate emergency access to the tunnel along with supporting electrical plant rooms. The top of this building will be covered by a green roof, stone-paved courtyard and have an entrance from Park Village East.^[14][7]

In advance of the tunnel's boring, a smaller 853m long logistics tunnel is being bored using a separate smaller TBM that will facilitate access between the primary construction compound at Atlas Road and Old Oak Common Station, the launch site for the Northolt East and Euston TBMs,^[15] through which construction materials such as the precast concrete lining segments will be brought into the site and spoil removed.^[16] Boring on the Atlas Road Logistics Tunnel began with the launch of TBM Lydia (formerly TBM Ellie on the Crossrail project before being refurbished for HS2 by Herrenknecht)^[17] on 12 April 2023,^[18] and finished on 23 January 2024.^[19]

Two 190 m (620 ft) long TBMs supplied by Herrenknecht will be used to bore the tunnels, with a cutterhead diameter of 8.53 m (28.0 ft) and weighing 1250 t each. They will start the drives in 2025, and are expected to take 18 months. They are named Karen after Karen Harrison, the UK's first female train driver, and Madeline after Madeline Nobbs, former president of the Women’s Engineering Society.^[12]