HS2 reveals completed high-speed platforms at Old Oak Common station
posted on 13th Aug 2026 14:53
On 13 August 2026, HS2 has unveiled its first six completed platforms on the railway in the underground station box at Old Oak Common in west London. The underground platforms will be served by HS2’s fleet of new high-speed trains, taking passengers between the capital and the West Midlands, as well as destinations further north via the West Coast Main Line.
HS2’s station construction partner Balfour Beatty Vinci SYSTRA (BBVS) oversaw the work to construct the platforms from its sub-contractor Expanded, which began in April 2025. Work began by building 1.59 m-high walls, known as invert walls. These were cast in situ on site before the pre-cast platform slabs, manufactured by Explore in Worksop, East Midlands, were lifted and secured on top. In total there are 1,946 slabs, each measuring up to 2 x 4 m and weighing between four and five tonnes.
The team built the platforms concurrently from each end, before meeting in the middle in a formation of three island-style blocks. The platforms have a void below, allowing for services, such as electricity to be installed underneath. Further fit out work on the platforms will now take place, including the construction of staff and equipment rooms. On the platforms, steelwork for lifts and escalator installation will begin, and floor finishes will be fitted once the other elements have been completed.
In addition to the six high speed platforms, eight further platforms will be built at ground-level at Old Oak Common, being served by the Elizabeth line, Great Western Mainline and Heathrow Express services. Old Oak Common will be the 42ndstop on London’s Elizabeth line and will be one of the UK’s best-connected stations with trains reaching over 100 destinations.
Kim Kapur, HS2’s Old Oak Common Area Director, said: "Going into the underground box at Old Oak Common, you can immediately visualise how it will look as an operational station, including where passengers will board or alight HS2's brand new trains. The scale of the work - and the station now taking shape - is remarkable. However, there is much more to do. This includes construction of the conventional, surface level platforms, completion of tunnels either side of the underground box and installation of the impressive station roof, which will begin next year. Old Oak Common will be transformative for the local area, providing a new transport hub, with a new vibrant neighbourhood developing around it."
HS2’s CEO Mark Wild is continuing to lead a fundamental reset of the project, and a new detailed programme of work is being developed and agreed. At Old Oak Common, construction momentum continues to build, with HS2's London tunnels contractor, Skanska Costain STRABAG, due to break through via the west wall of the underground box soon. This will connect the station to the Northolt Tunnel and open it up to wider HS2 route further north.
At the same time, work continues on the Euston Tunnel being built to the east of the station, which will eventually connect Old Oak Common with HS2's central London terminus. Two tunnel boring machines were launched from the station box at the start of this year and are expected to complete their journey to Euston in 2027.
The connectivity at Old Oak Common will come from the multiple existing lines that are served such as the Great Western and Elizabeth Line. Work to build the overground platforms is ongoing, with the first platforms slabs due to be installed later this year. The team is also now looking forward to the station coming further out of the ground, with the first part of the stations vast roof going in early next year.
In addition to the additional capacity that HS2 will create on the southern section of the West Coast Main Line, creating more train paths for more frequent and reliable local and regional services, HS2 is spearheading local economic growth around its stations.
Economic research, published by HS2 last year, shows a £10bn boost in the areas surrounding its new station site in west London. Within 1.5 miles of Old Oak Common Station, HS2 will be responsible for generating over 22,00 homes, 693,000 square metres of commercial floorspace, and 18,782 jobs, the research, conducted by Arcadis, found.
