The progress of HS2’s construction of Old Oak Common station is well underway, seeing major headway as the station box is taking shape after the culmination of the first base slab concrete pour at the western end of the structure.
This 850m station box reaches 20m below the ground and will house the six platforms for the high-speed trains. The concrete pour for this base slab has come following a massive excavation of approximately 80,000m3 of spoil in the west box by HS2’s station contractor.
Excavated spoil from this project is transported to the HS2 London Logistics Hub at Willesden Euroterminal via a conveyor system that has successfully removed the need for any road based vehicular journeys, thus significantly improving the sustainability of the works, whilst causing minimal disruptions for the local areas. This spoil is then taken from the Logistics Hub is then moved via rail to be reused in Kent, Cambridgeshire and Rugby.
Upon completion of the west box, it will then be handed to HS2’s London Tunnels contractor, where preparations for tunnel works between Old Oak Common and Victoria Road Crossover Box will commence, with breakthrough currently expected in late 2024.
Once completed, the Old Oak Common station will provide cutting edge connectivity, housing a mammoth fourteen platforms, six of which will be dedicated to HS2’s high-speed rail services to the Midlands and the North, four platforms for the Elizabeth Line and four that connect the Great Western Mainline.
Speaking about the progress on site, HS2’s Project Client for Old Oak Common, Huw Edwards, said:
“Work to build HS2’s super-hub station in West London is in full swing, and we are gaining momentum, reaching our construction milestones on site. This first concrete pour of the station box base slab means that we have now reached the HS2 track level and can continue to work eastwards to build the foundations for the HS2 operational services.
“Once complete, HS2’s Old Oak Common Station will be one of the UK’s best connected transport hubs, and will be a catalyst for economic development, the creation of new homes, jobs and spaces for the local community.”
Nigel Russell, Project Director for Balfour Beatty Vinci SYSTRA joint venture (BBVS JV), said:
“The successful completion of the first concrete base pour for the station box at Old Oak Common marks a significant milestone in the progress being made across the HS2 project.
“We now look forward to excavating the eastern section of the station box at Old Oak Common, which on completion, will become one of Britain’s largest, best connected and most sustainable railway stations.”
Permanent work for the station box began back in June 2021, seeing the first diaphragm wall (D-Wall) and piling activity taking place on the site. These works were completed in March of this year, seeing the installation of the last of 275 D-Wall panels and 161 bearing piles, completing the 1.8km long wall.
Later this year will see the construction of the platforms used by the Elizabeth Line and Great Western Mainline services.
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