Old Oak Common HS2 Station set to be largest UK station built in one single stage.

Old Oak Common station is set to become the largest railway station ever built in a single stage following a visit from the Transport Secretary yesterday.

Grant Shapps visited the site at Old Oak Common in Hammersmith and Fulham yesterday to announce the plans, which will support more than 2,300 jobs.

The first permanent construction work to take place at an HS2 station in west London was started following the Transport Secretary giving work a thumbs up.

The construction of the 1.1-mile-long (1.8km) underground wall at Old Oak Common started after Grant Shapps gave the signal for digging to begin.

The site will become the UK's largest railway station built in a single stage with a total of six HS2 platforms.

250,000 Passengers a day

The station is expected to be used by around 250,000 passengers every day, and HS2 said the station would be "pivotal" for rail travel in the South East.

Mr Shapps said: “The start of permanent works at the largest train station ever built in the UK in one go, Old Oak Common, marks yet more progress in delivering HS2, the high-speed, high-capacity and low-carbon railway that will form the backbone of our national transport network.

“This ‘super hub’ station shows our Plan for Jobs in action – kickstarting major regeneration, creating 2,300 jobs and 250 apprenticeships in construction – and underlines this Government’s determination to build back better.”

Three Football Pitches

The station will feature a roof covering the area of more than three football pitches.The longest escalators on the HS2 network will be at Old Oak Common.

They which will take passengers 13.5m up from the subsurface platforms to concourse level. In total, the new station will boast more than 53 lifts and 44 escalators.

HS2 Ltd chief executive Mark Thurston said: “The start of permanent works at Old Oak Common station, our first station under construction, is a significant step for phase one of HS2, as we deliver world-leading engineering to create what will arguably be one of the best-connected railway super hubs in the UK.”

Preparatory work had already taken place at the 32-acre site but it was the first time permanent construction work had been started.
The underground wall will form part of the shell around the HS2 platforms.

The new HS2 station is expected to contribute to a £15 billion economic boost over the next 30 years. It will help transform the former railway and industrial area into a new neighbourhood supporting tens of thousands of new jobs and homes.

The station is expected to be completed between 2029 and 2033.

Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said:

“This ‘super hub’ station shows our Plan for Jobs in action – kickstarting major regeneration, creating 2,300 jobs and 250 apprenticeships in construction – and underlines this Government’s determination to build back better.”