UK’s Long-Delayed High-Speed Rail Makes Breakthrough

Construction on the UK’s high-speed rail line took a step forward this month as engineers began installing the first platforms at Old Oak Common station in west London.

The activity signals movement on the High Speed 2 project, commonly referred to as HS2, despite the infrastructure project facing years of delays, rising costs, and shifting political support.

Why It Matters

HS2 was originally planned as a link from London to Birmingham, Manchester, and Leeds. However, routes north of Birmingham have since been dropped. The project’s budget has grown past £100 billion, and the completion date remains uncertain.

The new station upgrade will serve as a key interchange between the new high-speed line and other transport services. It will have 14 platforms, six for HS2 and eight for trains on the Elizabeth Line, Great Western Main Line, and Heathrow Express. Once complete, Old Oak Common is expected to handle up to 250,000 passengers daily and connect more than 100 destinations across the UK.

What To Know

The new work at Old Oak Common, announced in May, includes the installation of nearly 2,000 pre-cast concrete platform slabs inside a 2,788-foot underground station box.

Each slab was made off-site in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, and is now being placed on concrete walls. Engineers are building all six HS2 platforms at once from both ends of the site.

Additional platforms are planned for other rail services at ground level. Above the underground platforms, workers are preparing the ground level for future station amenities.

The full layout is being developed to manage long-term passenger traffic and support other transport services in London, according to reports from the New Civil Engineer.

The area around the station may support over 22,000 homes, about 7.5 million square feet of office and retail space, and up to 19,000 jobs within 1.5 miles of the site, according to estimates by construction company Arcadis.

The project includes energy-saving features such as curved roof forms for natural ventilation and sensors to control lighting and occupancy.

Other construction includes new bridges to carry the Great Western Main Line and Central Line trains, replacing an old bridge no longer in use. According to the HS2 official website, the station design includes step-free access, space for electric vehicle charging, and nearby parks with paths and gardens.

Work is expected to continue through at least 2026, when the track and rail systems are scheduled to begin installation.

What People Are Saying

Huw Edwards, HS2’s delivery director for stations and placemaking, said in an interview with New Civil Engineer: “The installation of the first passenger platforms represents 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

What’s Next

Tunnel boring machines are expected to depart from the east side of the station box later this year to dig toward Euston station in central London.

On the west side, a 1,181-foot tunnel will connect the site to the Victoria Road Crossover Box and continue through the Northolt Tunnel. These links are part of efforts to tie Old Oak Common into the rest of the HS2 route.