TfL asks for Crossrail 2 provisions to be built into Euston station redevelopment

In particular TfL has asked for a station entrance for Crossrail 2 to be built into final designs for the redevelopment of the London station.

The request is revealed in TfL commissioner Andy Byford's February 2022 report – made public this week ahead of next week’s board meeting.

It adds: “We are actively working with HS2 Ltd, Network Rail, London Borough of Camden and Lendlease, under the umbrella of The Euston Partnership, to ensure our requirements are met, especially in connection with Network Rail’s, for the redevelopment of the existing Euston main station.

“This includes assurances on the provision of a new bus station and a station entrance for Crossrail 2.”

Plans for Crossrail 2 currently remain on ice after TfL was forced to mothball a number of projects at the end of 2020 due to a dramatic revenue drop as a result of Covid-19 and subsequent restrictions.

The line would link south west and north east London, as well as destinations across Surrey and Hertfordshire.

As revealed by NCE last January, more than £115M had already been spent on developing Crossrail 2 proposals since 2015.

TfL commissioner Andy Byford has repeatedly said that the scheme “will still be needed in the future” but has conceded that it will not be realistically affordable before 2030.

Land for the route has been safeguarded with TfL keen to restart work as soon as funding is available.

In October last year HS2 Ltd confirmed that its Euston terminus station will be scaled back from 11 to 10 platforms.

Concerns about reducing the number of platforms have been raised by rail professionals, with one HS2 insider previously telling NCE that having one less platform gives the service less “wiggle room” should delays occur elsewhere on the line.

However, in its recently published Corporate Plan for 2021-2024, HS2 Ltd maintained that it was still “considering options to reduce the number of platforms at Euston from 11 to 10 while maintaining 17 trains per hour (tph) operations for the full Phase Two service”.

In the Corporate Plan, HS2 Ltd revealed that a revised concept design for the station was due to be complete by the end of last year, with a detailed design (RIBA 3) scheduled to be in place by March 2023.

A spokesperson for HS2 Ltd confirmed that “HS2 continues to ensure that there is passive provision in our design for Crossrail 2.”

Grimshaw and Arup won the Euston concept design job in 2012 but were replaced by WilkinsonEyre with WSP in February 2017. The original team was brought back for the detailed design work a year later, with more than £100M already spent on Euston station’s design.

A joint venture between Mace and Dragados (MDJV) remains in place as the station construction partner.

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