HS2 'will mean longer queues at Euston'

 
Queues: Commuters at Euston during a recent bout of delays (Picture: Twitter/@jennifto)

Londoners will face longer queues for the Tube at Euston station as it struggles to cope with a surge of passengers from Britain’s new high-speed rail line, a transport boss warned today.

Michele Dix, managing director of planning at Transport for London, stressed there could be delays getting onto the Underground once HS2 is extended in a second phase to serve northern England — unless Crossrail 2 was already operating in the capital.

“Particularly with phase 2 of HS2, the volume of people arriving at Euston will exceed capacity on the Underground lines even after all the upgrades that we are going through,” she told the Lords economic affairs committee.

Pressed on whether the £27 billion Crossrail 2 line, which will run from Surrey through central London to Hertfordshire, was essential for HS2 by moving people on from Euston, she added: “We have argued that Crossrail 2 needs to be opened before phase 2 of HS2 goes live in order to help with that dispersal.

“Otherwise the benefits that HS2 claims, particularly the journey time savings of people getting to London quicker, will be lost if people are then stood in queues waiting to get onto the Underground.”

Whitehall chiefs have previously sought to play down concerns over Euston becoming more overcrowded at peak times due to HS2.

Its second phase is due to open in 2033, linking Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds, after the London- Midlands section is completed in 2026.Both phases are set to cost around £21 billion each.

Ms Dix said plans to redevelop 46-year-old Euston station for HS2 had “gone back to the drawing board” as proposals for platforms for the high-speed and other lines at the same level were too costly.

She stressed the importance of avoiding a “fragmented” approach to modernising Euston, highlighting the need for a direct link to Euston Square so rail passengers could use the Hammersmith, City and Circle lines.

Ben Ruse, lead spokesman for HS2, said: “Euston will be the London terminus for HS2 - work continues on achieving a plan that supports the social and economic regeneration of the area while minimising construction effects and allowing the station to remain open.”

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