The Government on Friday stressed its determination to use private money to build a new station at Euston, but critics said Rishi Sunak’s drastic revisions to the planned HS2 high-speed rail line were descending into “total farce”.
The Prime Minister announced this week that £6.5 billion earmarked for Euston in central London would instead be diverted to fund transport projects in the regions, after confirming that HS2 will no longer run from Birmingham to Manchester.
The Standard understands that if enough private-sector funding is not raised to redevelop Euston, there is a back-up plan for the high-speed line to stop at Old Oak Common in west London.
Rail Minister Huw Merriman said the privately funded redevelopment of Canary Wharf, Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station showed the way forward for Euston.
“I’m absolutely determined that we will get that delivered. London delivers these types of projects as does other parts of the country,” he said on Sky News.
“There is no reason why this can’t be done and I’m committed to ensuring it is done. It’s a huge opportunity to build offices, see businesses grow and up to 10,000 homes, so it should be a private sector-led deal.”
Mr Sunak’s new plan to divert £36 billion of HS2 money into northern transport projects is threatening to unravel with the Government’s published document littered with examples of schemes that have already been delivered, or that are in the wrong part of the country.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney said: "This is a total farce. First Rishi Sunak cancels the leg to Manchester and now it turns out it might not even stop in central London.
“Conservative Party mismanagement could mean we end up with an HS2 line from Birmingham to the outskirts of London, and the blame for this colossal failure will lie firmly with the Prime Minister," she said.
