Behind the scenes... HS2 Old Oak Common

Walk a few hundred metres from the tired‑looking East Acton underground station in West London, past a corner shop or two and through quiet suburban London, and suddenly you hit a hive of construction activity on the huge, wedge‑shaped site of Old Oak Common. Phase one of three in the construction of the new transport super‑hub, which is set to be the largest new railway station ever built in the UK, is in full flow.

In the current first phase, the underground part of the station (aka ‘The Box’) will be built; this is where six high‑speed rail platforms will be located. Project visited the site in July, along with APM Chief Executive Professor Adam Boddison, just as the concrete panels that will make up the 1.8km perimeter wall of the 850m‑long underground station were being dropped 30m down into place. Once concrete beams are placed on top, the soil contained within can be excavated at a depth of 15m, put on a conveyor belt and sent around the country to be reused.

As excavation begins, the second phase will start, which focuses on the construction of eight overground platforms. As the underground and overground platforms are being completed, the HS2 station and the surrounding urban area will be built. Everything will be spanned by a vast, lightweight, curved roof, more than 250m wide.

The railway station is expected to be one of the busiest in the country, with high‑speed rail services to the Midlands, Scotland and the North, access to central London and Heathrow via the Elizabeth Line, as well as services to Wales and the South‑west. An expected 250,000 passengers will use the station every day. Old Oak Common is also the UK’s largest regeneration project. Project was told that while “there is nothing massively innovative” about what they are doing, it is the scale at which they are doing it that is “mind‑blowing”.

THIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FROM THE AUTUMN 2022 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, WHICH IS FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.