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In the 17 years since HS2 was first announced, the progress made on the UK’s sprawling high-speed railway between London and Birmingham has been slow, expensive and steeped in controversy. Despite its bumpy ride so far, the scheme is inching closer to its completion, and the first platforms for HS2 rail services at the line’s west London hub have now been constructed.
The six platforms, each measuring 450 metres long, will form part of the underground station box at Old Oak Common in west London, which, once completed, will be the biggest ever newly built train station in the UK.
In addition to the six high-speed platforms, eight others will be built at ground-level at Old Oak Common, which will be served by the Elizabeth line, Great Western Main Line and Heathrow Express services. Old Oak Common will be the 42nd stop on London’s Elizabeth line and will be one of the UK’s best-connected stations when it opens, with trains reaching over 100 destinations.
Atop the station will sit a sizable park, and solar panels will adorn parts of the roof, boosting the construction’s green credentials. Plus, 100 percent of the water needed for urinal and toilet flushing will be rainwater harvested, and there’ll even be daylight sensors to limit the use of artificial light.
Old Oak Common will sit at the heart of Old Oak, a huge new town spanning three boroughs and bringing 25,000 new houses to west London. Old Oak is set to be built over the next 30 years.
Designs for the west London transport megahub were first revealed in 2019, with an update in 2023. HS2’s ETA is set for 2039, so maybe don’t get too excited about hopping on the high-speed metro any time soon.
Did you see that London is set to get direct trains to Europe every 15 minutes?
Plus: a new Superloop bus route launches in east London next week – and it’ll be free to ride.
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