HS2 line set to be extend to Central London after a long-running row
PASSENGERS travelling to the capital on high-speed rail are set to end up in central London after a long-running row.
Rachel Reeves is expected to use her first Budget to back the multi-billion-pound plan to extend the HS2 line to Euston and redevelop the station.
The project has been in chaos since Rishi Sunak scrapped the northern leg of HS2 and paused work at Old Oak Common until additional funding could be secured.
But it is understood the Chancellor plans to unlock billions by changing borrowing rules to boost investment in roads, housing, and energy.
A Government source told The Sunday Times: “HS2 just wouldn’t work if the terminus was not at Euston.
“The station is also well overdue for investment and has become a dystopian mess and stain on London.”
Last week, Transport Secretary Louise Haigh told London’s Evening Standard: “Clearly Euston is going to be part of the wider picture but we will be making a decision soon on the tunnelling and the development.”
She was also accused of “going rogue” with her massive pay hike offer to train drivers.
Government figures say Ms Haigh caught them off guard with the huge 15 per cent rise presented to Aslef in August.
The deal — made in a bid to end two years of rail strikes — saw some drivers’ pay soar past £80,000 for a four-day week, with no strings attached like reforms to strict workers’ rights protections.
But coming just two weeks after the Chancellor announced up to ten million pensioners would lose their winter fuel payments, it sparked major backlash.
Ms Haigh’s allies insisted she had the full backing of No10 and the Treasury for the deal.