Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether Great British Railways will assume responsibility for the construction of the tunnels between Old Oak Common and Euston, and if so, when.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

HS2 Ltd is the non-departmental public body responsible for delivering the HS2 programme. This includes responsibility for HS2’s Main Works Civils Construction, which in turn includes the construction of all tunnelling between Old Oak Common and Euston. Great British Railways will not assume this responsibility.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the business case for starting work on the tunnels between Old Oak Common and Euston now when there is still no approved design for the HS2 station at Euston.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Euston is key to realising HS2’s transformational growth benefits. Tunnelling to Euston from Old Oak Common is the most cost-effective approach, as the construction of Old Oak Common is set up for this purpose.

The Government has been collaborating with key partners to develop affordable, integrated plans for the Euston Station Campus, which will include the new HS2 station. We will set out more details in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what the names of the six major rail tunnel and road milestones completed ahead of schedule in 2025 are, as cited by Rt Hon Darren Jones MP in their announcement on 27 January of the start of boring work on the tunnels between Old Oak Common and Euston.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The six major rail tunnel and road milestones completed ahead of schedule in 2025 are as follows:

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill on 30 January (HL13616), whether they will publish a map of the exact route of the Northern Powerhouse Rail project; and whether that route is electrified.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Northern Powerhouse Rail is expected to run on a core electrified railway between Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, and York, with onward services to Newcastle, Hull, and Chester for North Wales.

A schematic map was published as part of the Northern Growth Strategy: Case for Change command paper. Where relevant, public consultations, covering more detail on route alignment, will take place in due course.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total cost of construction for the two tunnels between Old Oak Common and Euston.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department and HS2 Ltd are currently undertaking a full reset of the HS2 programme, with revised cost and schedule ranges being developed. Once this work has been completed, these ranges will be published to Parliament.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is (1) the route of the tunnels between Old Oak Common and Euston, and (2) the location of their Euston end portals; and how these features interact with any designs for the HS2 station at Euston.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

From Old Oak Common station, the twin bore Euston tunnels will head north-east under Kensal Green Cemetery before broadly following the line of the Network Rail West Coast Main Line into Euston. The alignment curves in a southerly direction under Primrose Hill and the bored tunnels will end beneath the junction of Parkway and Gloucester Avenue.

From this point the twin bore tunnels will transition into a group of structures termed the Euston approaches, rather than interfacing directly with the station at Euston. The Euston approaches include a set of sprayed concrete lined (SCL) tunnels that connect to the twin bored tunnels. The Euston approaches will broadly cover the area between London Zoo car park and Hampstead Road.

The immediate structure that is to interface with Euston station is a retained cutting, which extends for circa 600m from a northerly direction to the entrance of Euston station. This will enable the HS2 lines to fan out into the necessary configuration for the station and its platforms.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what is the current status of the Euston Delivery Company, its Board, its remit, and its financial information

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government’s 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy confirmed that a Euston Delivery Company (EDC) will be established to oversee development of and be the single directing authority for the whole Euston campus. Its primary role will be to lead, integrate, and deliver a modern, safe, and revitalised transport gateway and support commercial development around the Campus.

The Government is working on the design and establishment of the new Delivery Company, with further details to be set out in due course once it has been formally established.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether companies conducting autonomous vehicle trials are required to publish incident and near-miss data; and if not, whether they plan to mandate this before commercial deployment of autonomous vehicles.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Data related to incidents from automated vehicle trials with a safety driver would be captured under standard incident report that the Department for Transport regularly publishes. Companies wishing to apply to operate commercial pilots will have to comply with mandated reporting requirements. These reports will initially be submitted to the Department. The Department is considering approaches around the publication of this information.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether penalty points can be applied to a safety operator supervising an autonomous system when the vehicle commits an offence without manual input.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Whereas the drivers of normal road vehicles require driving licences, onto which penalty points may be endorsed if they commit relevant offences, this is not the case with operators of automated vehicles.

As set out in the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, a range of civil and criminal sanctions will be available to the in-use regulatory scheme to ensure that operators are held accountable for the behaviour of their vehicles, and for any failures to comply with regulatory requirements. Views are being sought on these sanctions as part of the continuing Call for Evidence, “Developing the Automated Vehicles Regulatory Framework”.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the readiness of autonomous taxi technology for public use.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Government intends to introduce the Automated Passenger Services (APS) permitting scheme in Spring 2026 to provide a clear legal route to deploying passenger services, such as taxi-, private hire- and bus-like services, with no human driver, providing certainty for operators to enter the GB market. Both the service and the technology will be assessed before an APS permit is granted and the vehicle is listed as self-driving. These assessments will be undertaken by agencies of the department, on behalf of the Secretary of State.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of who has legal liability for traffic offences committed by autonomous vehicles.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Automated Vehicles Act 2024 implements the recommendations of the 4-year review of regulation for automated vehicles carried out jointly by the Law Commission of England and Wales and the Scottish Law Commission (the Law Commissions). It is intended to set the legal framework for the safe deployment of self-driving vehicles in Great Britain. Part 2 of the Act specifically relates to liability for vehicle use in a range of operational circumstances.

In addition, the continuing Call for Evidence “Developing the Automated Vehicles Regulatory Framework” asks a number of questions relating to the potential sanctions which may be available in response to traffic infractions involving Automated Vehicles.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to issue guidance to police forces on prosecuting companies operating autonomous vehicles for traffic contraventions.

Answered by Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

Section 39 of the Automated Vehicles Act 2024 (“AV Act”) sets out the Secretary of State’s duty to identify and investigate incidents involving automated vehicles which have potential regulatory consequences. Chapter 2 of the continuing Call for Evidence, “Developing the Automated Vehicles Regulatory Framework”, seeks views on the most appropriate methods of detection and enforcement of relevant incidents, including traffic infractions.

In addition, guidance specifically relating to forthcoming pilots of automated vehicles, prior to the introduction of the full AV Act, is currently being drafted in conjunction with first responders.

Found: Technology Tuesday 3 March 2026 2 pm Watch the meeting Members present: Lord Mair (The Chair); Lord Berkeley

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