HS2 Completes Tunnels, But Opening Date Now Delayed

HS2 Ltd has announced the completion of all 23 miles of deep-bore tunnels on its Phase One route between London and Birmingham, a major milestone as the project hits ‘peak production’. This significant construction achievement comes as CEO Mark Wild confirms the original 2029-2033 opening schedule is now unachievable, with the project undergoing a comprehensive reset to establish a new, credible timeline and cost base.

Main Body:

In a significant end-of-year update, HS2 Ltd has confirmed major progress across its 140-mile Phase One route, now operating at ‘peak production’ with around 350 active worksites. The headline achievement is the final breakthrough of the tunnel boring machines, completing the excavation of all 23 miles of deep-bore tunnels between Old Oak Common and Birmingham Curzon Street. This milestone is supported by impressive statistics across the board: 70 percent of the vast earthworks programme is now delivered (almost 105 million cubic meters), nearly 300,000 tonnes of steel have been used (69% of the total required), and 88 percent of the railway’s foundations are in place. The pace of construction has also accelerated, with a 75 percent year-on-year increase in the installation of viaduct segments.

This tangible progress on the ground is occurring in parallel with a fundamental strategic overhaul of the project’s management and timeline. A year into his tenure, Chief Executive Mark Wild has acknowledged that construction has been “harder than thought” and initiated a “comprehensive reset” to address what he terms “the failures of the past.” He has officially advised the Transport Secretary that the long-held 2029-2033 opening window cannot be achieved. Drawing on the same methodology he successfully used to reset the Crossrail project—which delivered London’s Elizabeth Line—HS2 Ltd is now finalising a new range of credible cost and schedule estimates. This will inform a new programme baseline against which all future performance will be rigorously measured.

With the heavy civil engineering phase now well advanced, HS2 is preparing to transition to the next critical stage: the installation of the core railway systems. The confirmation of £25.3 billion in government funding over the next four years provides crucial financial certainty for this transition, which will see the focus shift to laying track and installing the complex signalling and communications systems. To drive productivity, HS2 Ltd has increased its frontline construction staff and implemented a real-time ‘traffic light’ performance monitoring system to ensure progress remains on track across the entire route, laying a solid foundation for the complex systems integration work to come.

Key Takeaways

• Civil Engineering Milestone: All 23 miles of deep-bore tunnels between the London and Birmingham termini are now fully excavated, with 70% of all earthworks also complete.
• Schedule and Cost Reset: CEO Mark Wild has officially confirmed the original 2029-2033 opening target is unachievable, with a new baseline schedule and cost estimate currently being finalized using the successful Crossrail reset methodology.
• Secured Funding for Next Phase: The project has secured £25.3 billion in government funding for the next four years, providing financial certainty as it transitions from heavy civils to the installation of track and railway systems.

Editor’s Analysis

The simultaneous announcement of a landmark engineering achievement and a major schedule reset encapsulates the classic paradox of the modern megaproject. While the completion of the Phase One tunnels is a testament to the remarkable on-the-ground delivery by a 34,000-strong workforce, it is overshadowed by the management-level admission that initial plans were unrealistic. For the global rail industry, HS2’s current state is a crucial case study. The decision by Mark Wild to apply the “Crossrail playbook” to this project will be watched intently by infrastructure leaders worldwide. It signals a pragmatic shift from chasing arbitrary political deadlines to establishing a technically achievable, data-driven baseline—a methodology that could become the new global standard for rescuing and delivering complex, publicly-funded transport schemes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has HS2 finished all its tunnelling?

For the opening section of the railway (Phase One) between Old Oak Common in London and Birmingham Curzon Street, yes. All 23 miles of deep-bore tunnels have now been fully excavated.

Is HS2 still on track to open by 2033?

No. HS2 Ltd’s Chief Executive has formally advised the government that the original 2029-2033 opening schedule “cannot be achieved.” A new, more credible timeline is being developed as part of a comprehensive project reset.

What is the next major stage for the HS2 project?

With heavy civil engineering work like tunnelling and viaduct construction well advanced, the project’s focus will now shift to installing the core railway systems. This includes laying hundreds of miles of track and integrating the power, signalling, and communications infrastructure.