HS2 reveals design images for Old Oak Common station

Credit: HS2 Ltd

HS2 has unveiled its designs for Old Oak Common station, as HS2 Minister Nusrat Ghani visits the construction site to meet HS2 staff, its contractors and the Chair of OPDC involved in the transformative project.

The new high-speed station will help kick-start the UK’s largest regeneration project, which aims to transform the former railway and industrial area into a new neighbourhood supporting up to 65,000 jobs and 25,500 new homes.

Aerial view of Old Oak Common. Credit: HS2 Ltd

The high-speed platforms will be situated underground with an integrated connection to the adjoining conventional station at ground level via a shared over-bridge providing seamless connections between HS2 and Elizabeth line trains to Heathrow and central London. The current station design also includes the potential for provision of future services to Wales and the west of England from Old Oak Common.

A light and airy concourse will link both halves of the station with a soaring roof inspired by the site’s industrial heritage. The station is set to be the UK’s best-connected rail interchange, with an estimated 250,000 people passing through every day.

Escalators will take passengers down to the HS2 platforms, with a new public park built above them. The green space will welcome visitors to Old Oak Common and provide a new focal point for the growing community.

The long-term planning and development of the wider site is being led by the Mayor’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation which is planning a mixed-use development, with commercial, residential and leisure uses.

Matthew Botelle, HS2’s Old Oak Common Project Director, said: “The arrival of HS2 has the potential to transform Old Oak Common, unlocking thousands of new jobs and homes around the UK’s best-connected transport hub. Linking HS2 and Crossrail, our new station will be a landmark piece of architecture at the heart of the development, designed around the passenger to ensure seamless, accessible and stress-free travel. We want the community to be a part of the design process and we are asking for their views on the latest plans.”

HS2 Minister, Nusrat Ghani, said: “HS2 will be the backbone of Britain’s rail network, unlocking regeneration and economic growth across the country, while improving journeys for passengers. These designs show how Old Oak Common will set world-class standards for the future of stations. The task for our designers and engineers now is to take these ideas from the drawing board to reality, building an iconic station that is accessible, safe and open to all.”

Approach to the station. Credit: HS2 Ltd

Chair of OPDC, Liz Peace CBE, said: “The launch of the HS2 station designs at Old Oak today is an exciting step forward for the Mayor of London’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC). In line with Mayoral policy we will be using the opportunity offered by the HS2 station, which we are now beginning to see take real shape, to create a vibrant new quarter of London that will bring jobs, housing and a whole new social infrastructure – for the benefit of both local people and also those that will want to move into this area.”

The station will be built on the former Great Western railway depot at Old Oak Common. HS2 is currently working to clear the site and prepare the ground for the start of construction towards the end of 2019.

The six 450m HS2 platforms will be built in a one kilometre-long underground box, with twin tunnels taking high-speed trains east to the terminus at Euston and west to the outskirts of London. Material excavated during work on the tunnels will be removed by rail from the nearby former Willesden Euroterminal depot.

The first services are due to run in 2026.