Tunnel excavation connecting London’s Old Oak Common station to Birmingham Curzon Street has finished, marking an important step in the UK’s HS2 high-speed railway project.
Construction teams have completed an 8.8-mile tunnel section, removing 100,000t of material to link London’s first HS2 station with the route running towards Birmingham.
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Work began in May 2024 from the Victoria Road crossover box site.
Instead of traditional tunnel boring machines (TBMs) used elsewhere on HS2, the 360m-long twin tunnels between the crossover box and Old Oak Common were excavated through London clay with tunnel excavators and lined with 30,000m³ of sprayed concrete.
According to HS2, this breakthrough means that all deep-bore tunnelling between London and Birmingham is now complete.
Over 80% of major structures along the line are now either under construction or complete.
In 2025/26, HS2 delivered more than 10% more construction than scheduled and completed six key milestones ahead of plan.
The material removed during tunnelling, equivalent in weight to 14,000 London double-decker buses, has been transported for reuse elsewhere in the UK.
Construction teams used a technique described as “Jenga-style”, cutting the tunnel’s dividing wall into blocks and pushing them into the completed tunnel behind to achieve the breakthrough at the Old Oak Common station box and northbound tunnel.
Old Oak Common will serve as a major rail transport hub, connecting the HS2 line with the Great Western Railway, the Elizabeth line, and the Heathrow Express.
Once operational, trains are expected to cover the roughly 140-mile journey from Old Oak Common to Birmingham Curzon Street in approximately 45 minutes, with capacity between the two cities more than doubling at peak times.
UK Minister of State for Transport Peter Hendy said: “This is a major milestone for HS2, bringing us a step closer to delivering a world-class transport hub at Old Oak Common and connecting London to Britain’s new high-speed railway.”
HS2 CEO Mark Wild said: “I pay tribute to all those who achieved, and safely delivered, the breakthrough into the Old Oak Common station box. This is a key milestone for the HS2 programme and helps bring us a step closer to achieving our challenging ambition of delivering the railway from Old Oak Common to Birmingham Curzon Street by 2037, or earlier.”
Separately, two TBMs that began work from the eastern end of Old Oak Common station in early 2026 continue their 4.5-mile drive towards Euston, HS2’s planned central London terminus. Arrival is expected by mid-2027.
In August 2026, HS2 announced the completion of six high-speed train platforms at Old Oak Common station.
