HS2 ‘well beyond point of no return’ as first high-speed tunnels are dug in London

London Crawling: HS2 tunnel boring machines will dig from West Drayton towards central London

(Picture: HS2)

The HS2 high-speed line is “well beyond the point of no return” and has fantastic momentum as tunnelling begins in London, its chief executive has insisted.

Mark Thurston said the launch of the first of the tunnel boring machines in the capital was a key moment in delivering the route’s first section that will link London with Birmingham.