Installation of HS2’s first section of platform is being installed in the underground box at Old Oak Common station.
Six platforms are being built at the super-hub station in west London. Each will be served by HS2’s fleet of 400m-long trains. They are being built in advance of a further eight surface-level platforms for Great Western Mainline, Elizabeth Line and Heathrow Express services. Installation of these platforms will start later this year.
All six high-speed platforms are being installed at the same time, with construction taking place from either end of the station box. They are laid out as three ‘island’ style blocks.
The platforms are the first to be unveiled on Britain’s new high-speed railway.
To construct the platforms, 1.59m-high invert walls have been poured and 1,960 pre-cast concrete slabs, measuring up to 4m x 2m, will be placed on top. The platforms have a void below, allowing for services, such as electricity, to be installed.
The pre-cast concrete slabs are being made offsite by Explore Manufacturing in Worksop.
The station is being constructed by HS2’s station construction partner, Balfour Beatty Vinci Systra (BBVS JV). The structure of the 850m-long underground station box at Old Oak Common was completed this year, including the 45,000m2 base slab.
HS2’s delivery director for stations and placemaking, Huw Edwards said the installation of the first passenger platforms was a real step forward in taking HS2 from purely a construction project to the future of Britain’s railways.
“Whilst there is still much more to work to do, standing where passengers will alight HS2 services is a reminder of what this railway will achieve – creating connections between people and places, that will benefit generations to come,” he said.
Steve O’Sullivan, BBVS JV’s project director at Old Oak Common station, said the platform installation marked a defining moment in the delivery of HS2.
“It’s a powerful symbol of progress, not just in terms of engineering, but also highlights the change in project focus from the current civil phase of the works to the building, fit-out and the mechanical, electrical and public health phase of the works. Our teams at BBVS are proud to be laying the foundations of what will become one of the UK’s most important interchange transport hubs,” he said.
The BBVS JV team is also working a level above the base slab where the platform construction is taking place to construct the ground floor level of the station. From there the superstructure of the station can be built.
Tunnelling work to connect the station to the HS2 network is being undertaken by HS2’s London tunnels contractor, Skanska Costain Strabag JV. In the eastern section of the underground box, the team is preparing to launch two TBMs towards Euston. In the western side of the box, the team will excavate a short tunnel connecting the station to the Victoria Road Crossover Box nearby using the sprayed concrete lining method. From there the new high-speed line will run through the Northolt Tunnel.
