The horror story of HS2
How a flagship project became a parable of Britain’s problems
“It’s not ideal,” says James Richardson, a tunnelling engineer at Old Oak Common station in west London. He is standing in a vast hole: almost a kilometre long, 70 metres wide, 20 metres deep. Some 2,000 people are working at the site: by the early 2030s Old Oak Common should be one of the largest stations in Europe, with six underground platforms for high-speed trains whizzing in and out of London. But Mr Richardson isn’t sure where to dig next.
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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Horror story ”
Britain February 17th 2024
From the February 17th 2024 edition
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