Recommendation 12

In our May 2020 report, we raised our concerns over the huge uncertainty remaining for Euston station, specifically the lack of clarity around the station build. The Department and HS2 Ltd told us at the time that although the design of Euston was ready for planning consent, they were looking into more cost-effective solutions for the station. We recommended that the Department should write to us within six months of our report to provide us more detail of its plans, including how it would be delivered.26 When the Department responded in November 2020, it stated work was ongoing to develop an optimised design and delivery strategy to address cost pressures, with any changes expected in spring 2021.27 In its update to Parliament in March 2021, the Department and HS2 Ltd flagged cost pressures of £0.4 billion relating to Euston station, and noted that work to consider opportunities, efficiencies and scope reductions was underway.28 We therefore asked the Department about what progress it had made on Euston. It told us that “some progress” had been made, such as consideration of designs for a smaller station and improved integration with the work of Network Rail, but that a final design had not been agreed. When we pressed the Department to commit to a timeframe for final decisions on the design and delivery, it informed us it hoped to report back on a design for the station by its next six-monthly update in autumn 2021.29