The colossal boring machines have finally roared to life, eating their way through the London clay towards Euston, but the shadow of a spiraling budget threatens to bury the triumph of engineering under a mountain of debt.

Ministers have hailed the start of the 4.5-mile tunnel from Old Oak Common as a "major milestone" to get the High Speed 2 (HS2) project back on track. Yet, with costs for the Euston leg alone projected to top £7.5 billion (approx. KES 1.2 trillion), questions persist about whether this infrastructure behemoth will ever deliver value for money or simply become a cautionary tale of unchecked spending.

The Dig Begins

The first of two 1,600-tonne German-made tunnel boring machines, named 'Madeleine', was switched on by Rail Minister Peter Hendy. The plan is ambitious: excavate twin tunnels over the next 12 to 18 months to connect the Old Oak Common "super-hub" to a redeveloped Euston station in central London.

Hendy was bullish, insisting the station design must "serve the nation" and suggesting it could accommodate more than the initially planned six platforms. "It is inconceivable that we would build this railway at this level of expense without filling it full of trains," Hendy stated, hinting at future expansion to Northern England.

• The Cost Reality: Internal documents suggest the Euston tunnel and station works could hit £7.5 billion (KES 1.2 trillion), significantly higher than the £2.6 billion (KES 429 billion) official budget from 2019.
• The Funding Gap: The government is banking on private sector investment to plug the hole, hoping to create a "life sciences quarter" and thousands of homes to offset the bill.
• The Benefit: Proponents argue the link is essential to unlock £41 billion (KES 6.7 trillion) in economic growth and support 34,000 jobs.

A Lesson for Kenya?

The HS2 saga offers a sobering reflection for Kenya’s own infrastructure ambitions, particularly the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). Just as the SGR faced criticism for cost overruns and opacity, HS2 is grappling with a budget that seems to exist in a vacuum. The sheer scale of the spending—KES 1.2 trillion for just a 7km tunnel and station—puts Kenya’s entire infrastructure budget into stark perspective.

Darren Jones, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, framed the restart as a fulfillment of a Labour promise to "get HS2 back on track." However, the lack of a concrete plan for *how* the terminus will be funded leaves a gaping hole in the narrative. It is a "build now, pay later" strategy that relies heavily on the optimism of future commercial deals.

The Road Ahead

As the machines grind forward, the political stakes are high. Failure to deliver Euston would leave HS2 terminating at Old Oak Common, a glorified suburb, rendering the "high speed" promise effectively null for central London commuters. For now, the drills are turning, but the financial tremors are far from over.