On 27 January 2026, HS2 moved a step closer to central London as the first of two tunnel boring machines began its drive from Old Oak Common to Euston. The 1,624‑tonne machine will cut a 4.5‑mile route to the city centre, a stage ministers say is critical to taking high‑speed services into Euston.

The economic pitch is clear. Camden Council estimates that a new Euston station with surrounding homes and commercial space could add about £41 billion to UK gross value added (GVA) by 2053 and support roughly 34,000 jobs. HS2 Ltd, meanwhile, projects a £10 billion boost to West London over the next decade, including 22,000 extra homes and nearly 19,000 jobs. For SME owners and retail investors, that implies a long pipeline of activity spanning construction, fit‑out, professional services and local retail.

Named ‘Madeleine’ after former Women’s Engineering Society president Madeleine Nobbs, the machine both excavates and builds the tunnel, installing concrete segments as it advances. A second machine will follow to form the parallel bore to Euston, completing the pair required for high‑speed operation.

Contractors Skanska Costain STRABAG say the two drives will place more than 8,000 precast rings made in Hartlepool and remove over 1.5 million tonnes of excavated material. Movements will be handled largely by rail through a dedicated logistics hub, which they say should take more than 70,000 lorry journeys off local roads-helpful for congestion and air quality.

Across the route between London and Birmingham, the Department for Transport highlights progress including 23 miles of tunnels, 19 bridges and two viaducts completed, with more than 33,000 people currently working on the railway. In the capital, a new Euston Delivery Company is being created to oversee an integrated hub: the HS2 station, redevelopment of the existing mainline station, upgrades to the Underground and commercial development across the wider campus.

Transport for London has flagged the importance of a clean interchange between the Underground, London Buses, HS2 and National Rail at Euston. That matters for passenger take‑up and station‑area spending, which local businesses are counting on as the project advances.

For the supply chain, near‑term demand centres on civils, tunnelling operations, power, ventilation and digital control systems. As work transitions from excavation to stations and systems, attention shifts to fit‑out, fire safety, lifts and escalators, wayfinding and retail shells. Skills remain tight across parts of rail and construction, and contractors say apprenticeships and training programmes are intended to strengthen the labour pool through 2026.

Leadership at HS2 Ltd, under chief executive Mark Wild, has pushed a reset focused on safe delivery between London and Birmingham at the lowest reasonable cost. Market Pulse UK view: the next credibility test is keeping the Euston plan affordable while phasing commercial plots in a way that attracts private capital without over‑stretching public budgets.

Key signposts over the coming months include the launch of the second tunnel boring machine, early procurement decisions by the Euston Delivery Company and design choices that lock in how the HS2 station connects with the Underground. The government’s Great British Railways legislation and the current fares freeze provide a wider policy backdrop, but sustained progress under Euston is what will ultimately determine the project’s payback.

For communities and small firms, the proof will be practical: when apprenticeships, contracts and shopfront footfall materialise-and when construction traffic reduces rather than grows. If tunnelling stays on schedule and interchange works deliver as planned, West London’s £10 billion uplift and Euston’s regeneration ambitions move from headline figures to real activity in jobs, homes and local spending.