Euston tunnel
From Euston to Old Oak Common
The Euston tunnel will carry high-speed trains between London’s Euston station and Old Oak Common station. The 4.5 mile (7.2km) twin-bore tunnel will reach depths of up 66 metres (217ft).
This is the next stage of the HS2 project. Once complete, high-speed trains will run directly to a new station in central London. Building the tunnel is also helping to regenerate the Euston area – attracting investment and creating new homes and jobs.
Tunnel construction
German tunnelling specialists Herrenknecht built the two 1,700-tonne tunnel boring machines (TBMs). We then took them apart, transported them to England, and reassembled them near the tunnel entrance. A specially prepared head wall meant they could safely begin digging.
We completed the 853 metre (2,799ft) Atlas Road logistics tunnel in January 2024. This separate tunnel supports the main tunnelling work. It lets our team access both machines, bring in materials – including 48,294 concrete ring segments – and remove over 1.5 million tonnes of excavated earth.
We take all the excavated material by conveyor to the London Logistics Hub at Willesden Euroterminal depot. From there, it goes by rail for reuse on projects in Kent, Cambridgeshire and Warwickshire.
Rail Minister Lord Peter Hendy and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones switched on TBM Madeleine at Old Oak Common station in west London in January 2026.
TBM Karen will start tunnelling later in 2026.
Support infrastructure
Adelaide Road headhouse
Located on a Network Rail embankment near Adelaide Road, between Chalk Farm Road and Primrose Hill Road, in Camden.
Canterbury Works headhouse
Canterbury Works headhouse is in South Kilburn. It is behind Canterbury Road, adjacent to the existing railway infrastructure.
Atlas Road logistics tunnel
The 853 metre-long logistics tunnel runs from the Atlas Road logistics hub to the eastern section of the Old Oak Common station site. The tunnel supports our commitment to reduce cost and carbon by removing one million lorry journeys from London’s roads.
The tunnel is used to deliver materials to the two Euston TBMS. This will include concrete tunnel segments manufactured in Hartlepool. It will also be used to take away the excavated London Clay.
Connecting to our London Logistics Hub
A conveyor system will run through the logistics tunnel. This is connected to an existing conveyor at Atlas Road, taking the excavated London Clay to our London Logistics Hub at Willesden Euro Terminal where it is being used to construct the Euston tunnel. From there, the waste materials will be taken by train for re-use at sites in Kent, Cambridgeshire and Rugby.
The tunnel drive was completed in January 2024.
Euston Approaches
The Euston approaches are between Parkway and Hampstead Road in the London Borough of Camden. This connects the Euston tunnels beneath the A4201 Parkway directly to Euston station.
The tunnel configuration starts as two tunnels and then becomes three as they pass beneath the existing railway network. High-speed trains will emerge into a partially subterranean concrete box structure, gradually travelling to ground level at the Euston Throat.
How we’re building the Euston approaches
Three underground tunnels are being built in the Euston approaches. These pass beneath the existing railway and sections of Parkway, Mornington Street and Park Village East roads before emerging into a concrete box structure just south of Mornington Street bridge.
Unlike the main Euston tunnels, these three tunnels won’t be constructed using TBMs. Instead, engineers will excavate the tunnels using conventional methods and apply a sprayed concrete lining.
When the TBMs used for the two main Euston tunnels complete their work, they will arrive at the Euston approaches beneath Parkway junction. They will be dismantled and removed in sections by lorry.
The excavation work includes creating a large underground cavern where the tunnel boring machines can be dismantled. This cavern is where one of the two tunnels splits into two, creating a three-tunnel configuration – two tunnels for trains arriving at Euston and one for departing services.
This arrangement, combined with the track fan-out above ground between the Euston approaches and Euston station, will give trains access to multiple station platforms.
Key infrastructure components
Tunnels and cavern
Three underground tunnels will extend from approximately Parkway to Mornington Street Bridge, with one tunnel splitting into two during this stretch.
Concrete box
This enables trains to move from the underground tunnels to the open-air railway cutting approaching Euston station.
Headhouses
Two emergency and maintenance access points will be built in the existing railway cutting near Park Village East – one adjacent to Park Village Studios and another above the concrete box south of Mornington Street bridge.
These are referred to as Euston Portal and Euston Cavern headhouses.
Cutting (Euston Throat)
This work is to deepen and widen the open-air railway cutting to a depth of 16 metres. It is in front of Regent’s Park Estate and runs parallel to existing National Rail tracks.
Granby Terrace bridge extension
Bridge extensions carry utility diversions to maintain uninterrupted services during construction.
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