Question
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by HS2 that spoil and materials for the construction of Euston station will be moved by road, what assessment they have made of how this complies with their response to the Select Committee on the High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Bill (Session 2016-17, Cm Paper 9396) and their “overarching commitment to continue to seek to maximise, as far as reasonably practicable, the amount of material that can be moved by rail”.
Answer
No decisions have been made in relation to the removal of spoil and material from Euston by rail.
As reported in the October 2021 HS2 6-monthly report to Parliament, in response to a recommendation from the Oakervee Review about looking into the efficiency of the Euston station, the move to a smaller, simpler 10-platform station design at Euston has been confirmed.
Following the move to the more affordable 10 platform station design, the original plans for the removal of a proportion of construction spoil by rail are no longer possible. In response, HS2 Ltd has been working, in close liaison with colleagues from Network Rail, to consider alternative options for how to remove spoil from the construction of HS2’s Euston station and how it can minimise impacts. The outcomes of this work will be reported to the Euston Partnership Board, which has been established to facilitate cooperation and collaboration between key stakeholders at Euston, for consideration. HS2 Ltd will continue to use reasonable endeavours to maximise the use of material by rail and reduce the effect on local communities.