HS2 has revealed the latest images of the evolving design for the new station at Old Oak, where HS2 and Crossrail will meet.
Opening in 2026, 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. Working with the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), who published their Strategic Plan in May 2016, the new HS2 station will contribute to a £15 billion economic boost over the next 30 years.
The high-speed platforms will be situated underground with an integrated connection to the adjoining conventional station at ground level via a shared overbridge providing connections between HS2 and Elizabeth line (Crossrail) 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. Designed by a team led by WSP and WilkinsonEyre, 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.
Old Oak Common Station is being constructed on the site of the existing Old Oak Common railway depot (GWR and Heathrow Express), south of Willesden Junction Station. The new station will be the biggest sub-surface station to be built in the UK at around 1 kilometre in length and 20 metres below ground level. This subterranean part of the station will have 6 underground platforms. The urban brownfield site, in London Zone 2, will also include 8 platforms above ground level: 4 for Elizabeth Line services and potentially another 4 for services to Wales and the West of England.
