Old Oak Common railway station

Old Oak Common National Rail
Planned location
Old Oak Common
Location of Old Oak Common in Greater London
Location Old Oak Common
Local authority London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham
Managed by Unknown
Owner Network Rail
Transport for London
Number of platforms 14[1]
Accessible Yes
Key dates
2026 Planned opening
Other information
Lists of stations
WGS84 51°31′30″N 0°14′48″W / 51.524873°N 0.24672°W / 51.524873; -0.24672Coordinates: 51°31′30″N 0°14′48″W / 51.524873°N 0.24672°W / 51.524873; -0.24672
London transport portal

Old Oak Common is a planned[2] railway station in Old Oak Common, northwest London, England. The station will be constructed on the site of the Old Oak Common railway depot, approximately 0.5 kilometres (0.3 mi) south of Willesden Junction station, with an announced opening date of 2026. When built, it is expected to be one of the largest rail hubs in London.

The new station has been included as a part of the High Speed 2 line from London to Birmingham, covered by the High Speed Rail (London – West Midlands) Act 2017.[3] This hybrid bill conferred powers to construct and maintain phase 1, including intermediate stations. The surrounding area, including possible above-station development, is controlled by the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation set up in April 2015. The station will provide a major transport interchange with a number of other main line and commuter rail services, including Crossrail and the Great Western Main Line. The High Speed 2 line will be below ground level at the Old Oak Common site, with the parallel Great Western Main Line and Crossrail tracks on the surface to the south.

Interchange

Map of the Old Oak Common site's relation to existing lines at Willesden Junction (proposed Overground option "C" as at 2016)

According to proposals issued in 2010 by the Department for Transport (DfT), Old Oak Common will provide direct interchange between HS2 and Crossrail and Great Western Main Line services, including those operated by Heathrow Express and Great Western Railway.[4][5]

Planned routes

The following table illustrates the planned range of services, based on current DfT documentation on the station, additional proposed serves are described in the following sub-sections.[6]

  Planned routes  
Preceding station   Crossrail   Following station
Crossrail
Elizabeth line
towards Abbey Wood or Shenfield
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Birmingham Interchange   TBA
High Speed 2		   London Euston
Slough or
Reading		   Great Western Railway
Great Western Main Line
   London Paddington

Additional interchange proposals

Due to the proximity of the Old Oak Common site to other lines, it has been suggested that further connections could be made with commuter rail services. The 2010 DfT command paper highlights opportunities for interchanges at Old Oak Common with London Underground, London Overground, and West London line services between South Croydon and Milton Keynes Central.[4] A report prepared by Terry Farrell & Partners for the Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham also examines these interchange possibilities and proposes the construction of an overhead light rail, automated people mover or personal rapid transit system linking "Old Oak Central" [sic] with North Acton, Kensal Green and Willesden Junction stations.[7] However, as of 2013, no actual proposals exist to create an interchange with these lines.[8]

London Overground stations

A Transport for London consultation process has concluded that two separate London Overground stations ("Option C") on the Old Oak Common site is the preferred option.[9][10][11] One station, just to the east of the HS2 platforms will serve Victoria Road and Old Oak Common Lane and the other at Hythe Road will be a short walk from the west end of the HS2 platforms.

In October 2017, TfL began a public consultation on the construction of two new Overground stations, Hythe Road on the West London line and Old Oak Common Lane on the North London line. If built, these stations would provide interchange between London Overground and Old Oak Common station.[12][13]

West Orbital Railway

In September 2017, a proposal for a new West Orbital Railway from Hounslow to Hendon using the disused Dudding Hill Line could go via Old Oak Common station located at Victoria Road and other new stations at Staples Corner, Harlesden and Old Oak Common Victoria Road. Four trains per hour would run from Hendon to Hounslow and another service from Hendon to Kew Bridge via Old Oak Common.[14]

Chiltern Main Line Connection

Network Rail has proposed that the Chiltern Main Line should have a second terminal at Old Oak Common to increase capacity on the route as there is no room to expand the station at Marylebone. To do so, services would use the Acton–Northolt line (formerly the "New North Main Line") and perhaps see Chiltern trains terminating here rather than Marylebone.[15][16][17][18]

A 2017 Network Rail report on the long term plans for the Chiltern Line, included an option of providing additional platforms at Old Oak Common station area as a relief for Marylebone, with upgrading of the Acton-Northolt Line.[19]

High Speed 1

Although the 2010 DfT proposal for HS2 outlined a number of other possible transport links at Old Oak Common, including the addition of a direct link with the High Speed 1 route to Mainland European services via the Channel Tunnel,[4] it was removed following the Higgins Review [20]

Other proposals

High Speed 2
Northern Powerhouse Rail
National Rail Manchester Metrolink
Manchester Piccadilly
Leeds
National Rail
to East Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
Midland Main Line
National Rail Manchester Metrolink Airport interchange
Manchester Interchange
Classic-compatible loop
Sheffield
National Rail Supertram (Sheffield)
Crewe
Chesterfield
National Rail
Classic-compatible loop
East Midlands Hub
National Rail Nottingham Express Transit
 
Phase 1
╲
Phase 2
 
boundary
to Nottingham, Derby & Leicester
West Coast Main Line
 
Phase 1
╲
Phase 2
 
boundary
Snow Hill Lines
National Rail Midland Metro
Birmingham New Street
Birmingham Curzon Street
National Rail
Birmingham Moor Street
National Rail Airport interchange
Birmingham International
Birmingham Interchange
Parking
West Coast Main Line
Maintenance loops
and depot
maintenance loop
Wormleighton
infrastructure
maintenance depot
Claydon
maintenance loop
Stoke Mandeville
National Rail Crossrail London Underground Airport interchange
Heathrow Airport
Phase
2
┊
Phase
1
boundary
London Overground
Old Oak Common National Rail Crossrail London Overground London Underground
Great Western Main Line
and Crossrail
to High Speed 1
proposed
future
West Coast Main Line
National Rail London Underground London Overground
Euston

    The construction company Parsons Brinckerhoff submitted a detailed plan to High Speed 2 which included West London Line, North London Line, West Coast Main Line and Dudding Hill Line platforms,[21] although this pre-dated the announcement of the HS2 London terminus such that their proposed alignment would not be possible.

    Network Rail's London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy published in 2011 examines the possibility of constructing a chord through the Old Oak Common area to connect Crossrail to the West Coast Main Line. The report notes that a proportion of trains on the Crossrail service are planned to terminate at Paddington, and that a new western branch of Crossrail would enable those services to continue on towards Watford Junction and beyond. The proposed link would also relieve pressure on Euston station by diverting WCML suburban trains onto the Crossrail route instead of terminating at Euston.[22]

    A separate proposal promoted by the Campaign for Better Transport advocacy group, the North and West London Light Railway, suggests running a light rail line past the Old Oak Common site between Ealing Broadway and Brent Cross.[23] This scheme is not, however, supported by any government plans.

    Political support

    The Old Oak Common plans were unveiled two months before the 2010 United Kingdom general election by the Labour government. While the present Conservative/Liberal Democrat administration supports the HS2 project, the Conservative Party has indicated a preference to an alternative proposal, put forward by Arup, for the HS2 line to go directly to a hub station at Heathrow Airport.[24] Under this scheme, the west London interchange would be situated at Heathrow rather than at Old Oak Common.[25] Conservative MP Theresa Villiers (the former Minister of State for Transport) referred to the Old Oak Common scheme as "Wormwood Scrubs International", and criticised it on account of its distance from the airport and the inconvenience to airport passengers having to change trains. The former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has been non-committal in supporting the Old Oak Common site, and takes the view that further evaluation is required.[26]

    When asked about a High Speed Rail / Crossrail interchange at Old Oak Common, Transport Secretary Philip Hammond stated "Lug your heavy bags down a couple of escalators along 600m of corridor and then change trains at a wet suburban station somewhere in north west London. That is not an option.".[27]

    The Old Oak Common plans are supported by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.[28]

    Lord Mawhinney, a former Conservative MP for Peterborough concluded that the London High Speed 2 terminus should be at Old Oak Common, not at Euston. That was because of tunnelling costs and possible fast turnaround times at Old Oak Common.[29]

    In summer 2011, Hammersmith and Fulham launched a wider 'Park Royal City' plan for Old Oak Common, including light rail or personal rapid transit lines to the surrounding areas.[30]

    Site

    The proposed site of the Old Oak Common interchange station is located to the north of Wormwood Scrubs. Currently this area is made up of the disused English Welsh & Scottish train maintenance site to the north, which is currently being converted into a construction equipment marshalling area for the Crossrail project. To the south of this site is the Great Western Railway Old Oak Common Traction Maintenance Depot. As part of the Intercity Express Programme it will be replaced by the former Eurostar North Pole depot.

    See also

    References

    1. ↑ "DfT map of station" (PDF).
    2. ↑ "Go-ahead given to new railway". Department for Transport. January 2012.
    3. ↑ "High Speed Rail (London - West Midlands) Act 2017". parliament.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
    4. 1 2 3 "High Speed Rail" (PDF). Department for Transport. p. 107. Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 May 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
    5. ↑ "High Speed Rail London to the West Midlands and Beyond, A Report to Government by High Speed Two Limited p83" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
    6. ↑ "High Speed Two: From Crewe to Manchester, West Midlands to Leeds and beyond Phase 2b Route Decision" (PDF). gov.uk. DfT. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
    7. ↑ Terry Farrell (August 2011). "A Vision for Park Royal City" (PDF). London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. pp. 21 & 34. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
    8. ↑ "Old Oak Common Station" (PDF). High Speed Rail Consultation. Department for Transport. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
    9. ↑ "Two new London Overground stations planned at Old Oak Common". Retrieved 2016-05-27.
    10. ↑ Peter Moth – Principal Transport Planner, TfL. "High Speed 2 – Old Oak Common station proposals" (PPT). Retrieved 11 July 2013.
    11. ↑ "Old Oak Common: A Vision and Challenge For Crossrail (Part 1)". London Reconnections. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
    12. ↑ "First glimpse of how two new London Overground stations could look". Evening Standard. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
    13. ↑ "Have your say on two potential new London Overground stations at Old Oak". TfL Consultation Hub. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
    14. ↑ Desborough, Jenny (20 September 2017). "A real game-changer': New West Orbital Railway connecting Barnet, Harrow, Hounslow, Ealing and other boroughs on the cards". times-series.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
    15. ↑ Chilterns Route Study to tackle capacity challenges, Rail Magazine, 05/07/2016
    16. ↑ Development of Train Services for Chiltern Routes (Draft Publication February 2011) (PDF)
    17. ↑ Longer trains, new track, upgraded stations - planning for future demand for rail travel in the West Midlands and Chilterns Network Rail media centre, 4 Jul 2016
    18. ↑ West Midlands and Chilterns Route Study Summary (PDF) Network Rail
    19. ↑ West Midlands & Chilterns Route Study Advice and choices for funders (PDF) (Report). Network Rail. August 2017. p. 80. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
    20. ↑ HIGH SPEED TWO PHASE ONE INFORMATION PAPER A1: DEVELOPMENT OF THE HS2 PROPOSED SCHEME (PDF) (Report). DfT. 23 March 2017. p. 11. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
    21. ↑ "Old Oak Common Interchange: A Supporting Submission to HS2" (PDF). Retrieved 23 March 2010.
    22. ↑ "8. Potential new lines". London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy. July 2011. pp. 149–153. Missing or empty |url= (help); |access-date= requires |url= (help)
    23. ↑ "Diagram of Old Oak Common area" (PDF). Campaign for Better Transport. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
    24. ↑ Milmo, Dan (4 March 2010). "No Heathrow direct link in high speed rail plans". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
    25. ↑ "Heathrow Hub proposals published". Arup. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
    26. ↑ Cecil, Nicholas (12 March 2010). "Boris Johnson clashes with David Cameron on high-speed rail". Retrieved 29 May 2010.
    27. ↑ Sadek, Jackie. "Transport secretary chops down Old Oak High Speed 2 interchange - The Regeneration Blog". Estatesgazette.com. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
    28. ↑ "Old Oak Common: The Transport and Regeneration Case for a HS2 Interchange" (PDF). London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. December 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
    29. ↑ No business case' to divert HS2 via Heathrow, say Mawhinney Page 6-7, Rail Magazine, Issue 649, 28 July to 10 August 2010
    30. ↑ "Launch of 'Park Royal City'". London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. Archived from the original on 17 October 2011. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
    • "High Speed Rail". Department for Transport. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
    • "HS2 phase one revised line of route maps". Inside Government website. Department for Transport and High Speed Two Limited. 10 January 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
    • "Route 3 Plan and Profile" (PDF). High Speed 2 Feasibility Study. Department for Transport/Arup. 4 December 2009. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2013. - official 2009 DfT map of the Old Oak Common site
    • "Old Oak Common area rail services" (PDF). Campaign for Better Transport. Retrieved 24 October 2010.
    • "Old Oak Common TfL studies". Transport for London (TfL) via external web site. Retrieved 23 December 2011.
    • Park Royal City International: We built this city on rails and road! on YouTube (promotional video by Hammersmith & Fulham Borough Council)
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