London Euston: HS2 will run into centre of capital, PM confirms

Rishi Sunak said there would be a new development around Euston in central London

High-speed rail link HS2 will run into London Euston station as initially planned, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed, after announcing the Manchester leg would be axed.

He scrapped the leg between Birmingham and Manchester but said "given how far along construction is", the line from Birmingham to Euston would be finished.

Mr Sunak promised a new development around Euston station.

But he said the HS2 management would no longer run the Euston project.

Analysis

Tim Donovan, BBC London political editor

So feverish had been the focus on Manchester and Birmingham.

So furious had been the responses of the mayors of those city regions - Andy Burnham and Andy Street.

Euston's significance appeared to have been briefly forgotten.

But preservation of the six-mile stretch between there and Acton (aka Old Oak Common) has come as a relief to many - and not just to those within inhaling distance of the vast, dusty Camden construction site.

• HS2: Euston floundering while community suffers

Minister for London Paul Scully says it is critical to a £10bn programme of regeneration at both ends.

It seems that for Rishi Sunak the decision to save Euston may have been a close-run thing. And there's a sting in the tail.

HS2 top brass are being punished for the "mismanagement" of the Euston station redevelopment with the government taking over having apparently identified £6bn in savings.

What that will mean for what ends up being built in the area remains to be seen.

Is it a forlorn hope that there may be lessons learned here on how to create new infrastructure more quickly and economically.

It had previously been reported that HS2 trains could terminate at Old Oak Common - a planned transport hub in the suburbs of west London.

Mr Sunak claimed the Euston project would cost £6.5bn less than under HS2.

The prime minister added: "The management of HS2 will no longer be responsible for the Euston site. There must be some accountability for the mistakes made, for the mismanagement of this project.

"We will instead create a new Euston development zone, building thousands of new homes for the next generation of homeowners, new business opportunities and a station that delivers the capacity we need.

"And, in doing so, for the first time in the lifecycle of this project, we will have cut costs. The £6.5bn of savings that Mark [Harper] and I are making will be taken from the Euston site and given to the rest of the country."

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