28.08.15
Euston HS2 rebuild must go better than London Bridge, NR admits
A closer look at the effects of HS2 construction on Euston station should be carried out, following the lessons learned from London Bridge, according to Network Rail.
The infrastructure owner’s latest board papers stated that the “the operational and financial consequences” of removing two platforms as part of Euston’s re-modelling should be more “fully understood” and “addressed early”.
Recently, the Office or Rail and Road (ORR) fined Network Rail £2m for breaching its licence over its poor performance on Southern, Govia Thameslink (GTR) and in Scotland in 2014-15.
In particular, a failure to produce a “robust” timetable contributed to the major disruption seen at London Bridge in recent months. In the last year, RTM has reported on the major disruption caused during the re-building of London Bridge as part of the Thameslink project.
For example, in April seven separate signal failures occurred between Deptford, New Cross and London Bridge as a result of cable damage and equipment failure. This resulted in major delays of at least 90minutes, and evoked much anger from Royal Greenwich council.
With regards to HS2 Ltd’s re-modelling of Euston station, transport minister Robert Goodwill said that “as part of its plans for High Speed 2, HS2 Ltd is reviewing its proposals for the redevelopment of Euston station”.
The plans show the HS2 terminus at Euston will be built on a phased basis, with the HS2 tracks and station expected to be completed by 2033, as initially revealed in February.
Camden Council noted that the proposal, as it understands the concept, uses the same footprint as the current scheme in the Hybrid Bill, known as Option 8, taking land to the west of Euston station.
And by adopting a phased approach, the first six high speed lines would be built to the west of the station by 2026, and the second five lines built within the station by 2033. It was noted that an Additional Provision is expected to be brought to Parliament in September.
However, in July, Cllr Sarah Hayward, leader of Camden Council, said in a letter to London Mayoral candidates: “HS2 Ltd’s current plans for Euston fail to deliver a comprehensive development of the station and surrounding area, severely limiting the benefits to Camden, London and the UK as a whole.”
(Image: c. Ewan Munro)
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