Designs unveiled for £1bn HS2 hub on site of former depot near Wormwood Scrubs

The first designs for the £1 billion “super-hub” High Speed 2 train station at Old Oak Common
Ross Lydall @RossLydall5 February 2019

The first designs for the £1 billion “super-hub” High Speed 2 train station at Old Oak Common were revealed today.

Passengers will switch trains at the station an estimated 250,000 times a day, creating a Clapham Junction-style interchange in north-west London.

HS2 services between Euston and Birmingham, and Crossrail trains to and from Heathrow, will call at the station, as well as Great Western mainline services. A new Chiltern line to and from Heathrow may also be built.

Consultation on the proposed designs of the station, being built on the former Great Western railway depot north of Wormwood Scrubs, opened today.

Preparatory groundwork has begun and construction is expected to start later this year.

The £27 billion first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham is expected to open in 2026, although some critics suggest the date is optimistic. The £29 billion second phase to Manchester and Leeds is not due until 2033.

Up to 18 HS2 trains an hour will stop at Old Oak Common. About a third of HS2 passengers are expected to change trains there rather than at Euston.

Crossrail is not due to open until next year at the earliest, but its trains will not stop at Old Oak Common until 2026. It will be the biggest sub-surface station in the UK, at about 1km in length and 20m below ground. It has been designed by contractor WSP and the WilkinsonEyre firm of architects, whose work includes the Emirates cable car across the Thames and the renovation of Battersea Power Station.

There will be six 450m-long underground platforms for HS2 and eight platforms at ground level — four for Crossrail and four for Great Western mainline services. A public park will be created alongside.

HS2 minister Nusrat Ghani said: “These designs show how Old Oak Common will set world-class standards for the future of stations.”

The wider area is the UK’s largest regeneration project and has been earmarked for 25,500 new homes. However, £250 million from the Government’s housing infrastructure fund has yet to be provided to Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Old Oak Common development corporation.

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. We want the community to be a part of the design process and we are asking for their views on the latest plans.”

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