Letter from Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan to Prime Minister regarding concerns over HS2 links to Euston

Dear Rishi, 

I write to express serious concerns about your recent announcement on HS2. While I welcome the Government’s commitment to deliver the Old Oak Common to Euston link, I am seeking urgent clarification on a number of critical issues.  

In particular, I am concerned about the implications of your decision regarding the terminus station at Euston and the temporary terminus at Old Oak Common. It remains vital that HS2 terminates at Euston not Old Oak Common, and I am pleased that the Government recognises this. However, the Government’s proposed approach raises more questions than it answers.  

The Euston station terminus is estimated to require £6.5 billion to complete the project. However, it is now evident it is your intention to withdraw public funding for this project. Instead, the private sector will be expected to cover the cost of the terminus, potentially through the establishment of a Development Corporation. We also understand the 4.5-mile tunnel from Old Oak Common to Euston will also be contingent on private funding being secured. Given current challenges in the British economy, asserting that the £6.5 billion cost of a terminus at Euston and potentially more for the tunnel link to Old Oak Common will be covered by the private sector seems wishful thinking. Similarly, it is not clear how the decision was taken to do away with the link between Euston Square and Euston LU station, which is a vital part of the HS2 scheme. HS2’s own figures show 85% of their passengers arriving at Euston then need to use the underground to continue their journey which will overwhelm the existing LU connections. 

I am deeply concerned that your recent announcement yesterday will leave the Euston terminus of HS2 a distant hope, resulting in a line which ends at Old Oak Common for decades, if not permanently, in what would be a devastating blow for passengers using the line and for the economy of London and the whole country.

I am seeking urgent reassurance on the following points: 

• Should the private sector-led approach not be viable will the Government act as “funder of last resort” to ensure that a central London terminus at Euston is delivered and that Old Oak Common doesn’t become the terminus for HS2 by stealth?
• What assessment, if any, have you made on the impact of reducing the number of platforms at the Euston terminus, given this seems central to some of Government’s assumptions?
• How will the essential connections for passengers at Euston be funded (e.g. provision of a London Underground station and Euston Square link which are able to accommodate existing demand alongside HS2 passengers and the planned oversite development) be funded?
• When will a deadline for agreeing the funding be set so as not to incur further delays and spiralling costs to this project? 
• Please confirm the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Transport for London (TfL) play a full role in the Development Corporation. Given the Mayor’s responsibility for transport and strategic planning, and normal leadership for Development Corporations in the capital, as established in the Localism Act?

• Your announcement said the Euston Development Corporation will create 10,000 homes – how was this figure calculated? Have you factored in limitations on building heights in the area resulting from the nationally protected views of St Paul’s Cathedral? This is a huge increase on what was planned before it realistically can only be delivered with less employment space – which our nationally important life sciences sector was keen to see.  Had the consequences for this been considered?

• The implication that this development will fund the new terminus at Euston and potentially the tunnels to it, mean that huge profits would have to be made on each home in order to fund the station. Will you give a guarantee that a large proportion of these new homes will be the social and affordable homes Londoners need, not luxury properties out of the reach of ordinary Londoners? 
• Recognising that Old Oak Common will now be the terminus for HS2 for at least a decade, will the Government urgently confirm the funding needed for additional Elizabeth Line trains to enable onward travel to central London otherwise HS2 customers will face delays of 10 minutes or more as multiple Elizabeth line trains reach capacity before they can board. Similarly, can you please confirm the Government has budgeted for the additional costs to ensure Old Oak Common can function as a terminus, with additional space for train turnaround and level access platforms for the Elizabeth line to ensure disability access for passengers interchanging from HS2 services? 
• Given that £6.5 billion in funding has been released by switching to the new Euston Development Corporation model, does this mean Government is now in a position to confirm the 24/25 capital settlement for Transport for London? What other investment in London does the release of this funding enable, noting that funds released in other parts of the country are planned to be re-invested in those localities?  

Permanently terminating the service at Old Oak Common – either by design or by stealth – would be a short-sighted decision which will have long term implications, significantly downgrading the value of HS2 as a high-speed connection and leaving a ridiculous situation where a ‘high speed’ journey between Birmingham and central London could take as long as the existing route, if not longer.  

Residents, businesses, and visitors to London deserve a service that goes right to the heart of the capital, and which will help drive economic growth and accelerate investment across the UK.  It is essential that Government provides the reassurance needed that this will be the case and engages directly with GLA, TfL and London Borough of Camden to draw on the huge collective experience that London has in delivering infrastructure that unlocks the UK’s potential, which your publication Network North recognises citing the example of the Northern Line Extension to Battersea Power Station. TfL’s Commissioner has already offered to work collaboratively with ministers and we encourage the Government to quickly convene the relevant parties to progress a way forward at pace.

An outcome whereby HS2 terminates at Old Oak Common – whether permanently or not – would also have major implications for London’s transport network. It would funnel all of HS2’s passengers onto a limited or constrained connection – mainly via the Elizabeth Line – into central London, as opposed to the multiple connections in the centre that would otherwise be provided. As a result, the plan risks serious crowding on the Elizabeth Line, with HS2 passengers facing a wait time of well over 10 minutes on platforms, as multiple trains reach capacity before they can board. This would erode the journey time and passenger experience benefits of HS2, impair the attraction and reliability of the Elizabeth Line, including for passengers from and to both Heathrow and the Home Counties, and lead to potentially unsafe conditions for passengers.  

Latest TfL estimates highlight the extent of the issue. To get to a central London location such as Euston, on top of the 42 minute journey time from Birmingham, the connection with the Elizabeth Line and Northern Line would take roughly 30 mins and two changes, with a forecast of at least a 10 minute extra delay at Old Oak Common as people queue due to a lack of additional trains. This best case journey time of 1 hour and 22 minutes is already one minute longer than the existing train time from Birmingham to Euston, around 1 hour and 21 minutes. 

The public would rightly be dismayed were all this time and money spent on a line that took longer to reach central London than the existing route. It is essential that Government provides the reassurance needed that this will not be a potential outcome. 

I look forward to hearing from you shortly.

Yours sincerely, 

Sadiq Khan

Mayor of London