The second stage of demolition works has commenced at HS2’s Euston station site in London. The HS2 project will see capacity doubled at Euston station with eleven new high speed platforms.

New images released of the site show progress on the two 1970s towers at the front of the station. Four floors have already been removed from the office blocks.

HS2’s early works contractor, a Costain and Skanska joint venture (CSjv), working with demolition sub-contractor McGee have wrapped the towers in an acoustic wrap designed to limit dust and noise. They have also stripped out the interiors leaving just the shell of the buildings. This progress has been reached over the last seven months.

“HS2 has the potential to transform Euston, more than doubling the number of seats out of the station during peak hours, freeing up more space for commuter services and improving links to the London Underground. The complex demolition of these two towers will be a turning point for Euston – the first major change to the skyline for almost fifty years,” said Euston Programme Director Rob Carr.

This next stage sees the team carefully lifting excavators equipped with pneumatic breakers and hydraulic munchers to the top of the towers, where, 60m up in the air, they have begun gradually breaking up the structure of the building. Material from the building is then lowered by crane, or dropped down the former lift shafts in the centre of the building to limit disturbance caused by dust and noise.

The work has been made more complex by the discovery of a huge 2.8m thick heavily reinforced concrete pedestal supporting the weight of One Euston Square.

Over the next year, the two towers are set to be reduced to just over 28,000 tonnes of crushed concrete, with the material stored on site ready to be reused during the construction of HS2’s London terminus. In total, 98% of the structure is expected to recycled.

The 40m and 60m towers are expected to get down to first floor level by January 2020.