The government has revealed work has finally begun on Euston station to make way for the HS2 project.

The high-speed rail development requires much greater capacity at the London travel hub, which is why a 66-metre high crane was delivered last week to help transform the station.

It is the first of three tower cranes to be positioned at Euston station, allowing demolition of One Euston Square and Grant Thornton House to occur.

The work to destroy the buildings above the entrance and exit to Euston’s old taxi rank, using the likes of two-shaft double-jaw beakers to help crush material, represents the biggest change to the skyline in half a century.

London programme director for HS2 Ltd Rob Carr said: “HS2 will transform Euston, delivering much-needed extra capacity and better journeys for the 44 million people who use the station every year.”

He added that pre-construction work is already taking place, including “archaeology, utility diversions, and of course, the demolition of the two Euston towers”.

It is expected the demolition work will take ten months to complete, while HS2 has been working on the delivery of a new taxi rank in front of the entrance for the last eight months. This will function while construction work continues at Euston, but will move to a new location once HS2 opens.

When working at the HS2 site in Euston, archaeologists have discovered bones of Captain Matthew Flinders – the first explorer in the Royal Navy who navigated around the coast of Australia. His coffin was found at St James’ burial ground underneath the station, where 40,000 other human remains have been unearthed.