You may remember that a couple of months back, we gave you the lowdown on a shiny new transport hub that’s currently in the process of setting up shop in the capital city. Old Oak Common station has been in the pipeline for a fair few years now, but is expected to be well-worth the wait. Expected to be used by up to 250,000 passengers each and every day, this ‘superhub’ station will boast 14 platforms and will connect passengers to over 100 destinations across the UK. Not bad, hey?
Set to be one of the biggest and best-connected stations in the country, the construction of Old Oak Common is certainly no mean feat. In fact, it’s been hailed ‘one of the most technically challenging stations currently being built in the UK’. But that hasn’t stopped the ambitious folk over at HS2 from reaching yet another rather hefty milestone in the construction process.
It’s been revealed that tunnel mining teams have recently made a breakthrough into the Old Oak Common station box, officially linking what will be London’s first HS2 station with the railway beyond. The major breakthrough came following the excavation of 100,000 tonnes of material, equating to the weight of around 14,000 London buses.
Work on the tunnels began back in 2024, starting at the Victoria Road crossover box site. The majority of the route that runs between West Ruislip and Old Oak Common had already been dug, but the tunnel’s dividing wall was cut into blocks and pushed out ‘Jenga-style’, creating one lengthy 8.8-mile link that can now be entirely walked through.
Once fully up and running, the high-speed line, the Elizabeth Line, the Heathrow Express, and Great Western railway will all serve Old Oak Common station. HS2 confirmed that more than 80% of the project’s major structures are either complete or under construction. They also revealed that six of the project’s major milestones are ahead of schedule, having completed over 10% more construction than planned in the 2025/2026 period.
Lord Hendy, Rail Minister, said: “This is a major milestone for HS2, bringing us a step closer to delivering a world-class transport hub at Old Oak Common and connecting London to Britain’s new high-speed railway.
“HS2 will provide much-needed rail capacity, create space for more reliable services across the wider network and help unlock economic growth, homes and jobs in west London, the West Midlands and beyond.”
Mark Wild, chief executive at HS2 Ltd, said: “We are now in the final stages of a fundamental reset of the entire HS2 programme to deliver the line safely and efficiently between London [and] the West Midlands at the lowest reasonable cost. The prize of our endeavor will be a new high-speed railway for the Great British Railways network, delivering much needed capacity and driving local regeneration. The new HS2 station at Old Oak Common is set to boost the local economy by £10 billion over the next decade.”
