HS2 is still expected to terminate at London Euston rather than an outer borough of the capital, transport secretary Louise Haigh has indicated.

Rumours have swirled in recent years that the UK’s largest rail project since the Victorian era would only reach Old Oak Common in west London because of the high cost of building the remaining few miles to Euston.

The project has had a rocky few years since the previous Conservative government cancelled phase 2 of the railway from the West Midlands to Manchester.

Weeks after taking power, the new Labour government also announced the cancellation of a swathe of infrastructure projects, including road and rail. While nothing attached to HS2 was explicitly cancelled in that announcement, the final section of HS2 – which will bring the line into the Euston terminal – was understood to be under threat.

But speaking to the BBC, Haigh said: “We will be making an announcement on that soon. But it certainly would never have made sense to leave it between...