{"id":372816,"date":"2026-02-20T18:09:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T08:09:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=69521"},"modified":"2026-02-20T18:09:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T08:09:37","slug":"hs2-and-rail-freight-in-uk-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=372816","title":{"rendered":"HS2 and rail freight in UK future"},"content":{"rendered":"

The long-awaited recommencement of tunnelling work on the Old Oak Common to London Euston section of HS2 should be welcomed. After years in the doldrums of cost overruns, uncertainty and political ambivalence, the gargantuan task of burrowing under the streets of Camden once again feels real. It is a reminder that rail infrastructure of any scale takes time, patience and a willingness to live with disruption, as RailFreight.com UK Editor Simon Walton observes.<\/strong>
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The HS2 tunnelling turn-on is a cause for encouragement. It does, however, highlight how far Britain\u2019s approach to rail investment still has to evolve. Good intentions alone do not conjure network capacity out of thin air, nor do they excuse a narrow fixation on a single flagship project at the expense of wider freight\u2011user and self-loading cargo (passengers) needs. Slow or not, the restart of tunnelling is, paradoxically, a welcome step in a direction that should have been clearer in the first place.<\/p>\n

Spoil trains: the unglamorous lynchpin<\/h2>\n

The spotlight may fall on sleek passenger trains and Westminster soundbites, but the real operational hero of this phase will be the humble rumble of the myriad spoil trains. Tunnelling to Euston is being supported by a separate 853\u2011metre access, which has been patiently waiting since January 2024, specifically to get materials and machinery in and muck out. Some 48,294 concrete ring segments will support the tunnel lining, and more than 1.5 million tonnes of excavated spoil will be removed for reuse. By my reckoning, that\u2019s the equivalent of about 1,000 heavy freight trains leaving London for destinations in Kent, Cambridgeshire and Warwickshire.<\/p>\n

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Not glam, but can. Getting the job done, moving HS2 materials near Wembley in north London. Image: \u00a9 Cappagh Group \/ HS2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That volume of work underlines just how dependent major civil engineering projects are on efficient rail freight operations, often overlooked beneath photos of behemoth tunnel\u2011boring machines. Spoil needs to move swiftly and reliably if tunnelling faces anything like the schedule planners envisage; and rail \u2014 with its capacity, environmental credentials and ability to shift bulk material out of congested urban zones \u2014 is uniquely placed to do it. It\u2019s unglamorous, but without it, the whole enterprise just sits underground.<\/p>\n

Planning for disruption \u2014 credit where due<\/h2>\n

HS2\u2019s tunnelling restart comes alongside fresh discussion about how Network Rail and HS2 Ltd plan to manage disruption during redevelopment at Euston. Anyone who watched the chaos caused by the recent fire at the old Primrose Hill station \u2014 an incident unrelated to HS2 but hugely disruptive \u2014 will recall just how fragile London\u2019s rail freight movements can be when even relatively minor blips occur. HS2\u2019s teams have published plans to reroute displaced traffic, reconfigure track layouts and maintain freight paths while works progress. None of it is easy, and all of it will be noticed by freight customers who demand certainty on slots, speed and capacity.
\nThat said, the commitment to keep freight moving during this disruptive chapter does deserve credit. Too often, major infrastructure schemes are planned in splendid isolation from the logistics realities that surround them. Here, the official strategy recognises that freight services are not an add\u2011on but a vital element of a functioning railway \u2014 and that disruption isn\u2019t merely a nuisance, it\u2019s an economic cost. Making space for freight continuity in the construction choreography is both sensible and overdue.<\/p>\n