HS2 has completed the excavation of the Old Oak Common station box after three years.
The excavation of the box for the new super-hub station was a huge undertaking, with the structure big enough to accommodate 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The underground box is surrounded by a 1.12-mile fibre-reinforced concrete diaphragm wall, with 1.3 million tonnes of London Clay removed from inside.
Sam Clark, Head of Delivery for HS2 Ltd, said: “The tremendous progress made by our construction team to complete the excavation of the box is an exciting milestone for the project as it signals the next phase of construction where high speed platforms will be built, as well as the station building itself.
“HS2’s Old Oak Common station will be transformational for local and regional connectivity and attract huge investment, development and regeneration to the surrounding area.”
The box is 20 metres deep, with a reinforced concrete base slab up to 2 metres thick being poured throughout.
Meanwhile, 32,000 tonnes of steel rebar, assembled by hand on site, has been used in the box alongside 160 reinforced concrete columns which will help to support the structure.
Six 450-metre platforms will be constructed in the box, and will be used for HS2 services. A further eight stations, which will be served by the Elizabeth Line, Great Western Mainline services and the Heathrow Express, are being built above ground.
When the station becomes operational, it will be one of the UK’s most vital transport hubs, with direct connections to more than 170 stations on the country’s rail network.
The east end of the underground box has been handed over to HS2’s London Tunnels contractor, SCS JV, who are preparing to construct HS2’s running tunnel to Euston. Later this year, two giant tunnel boring machines (TBM’s) will be lowered into the underground box, before the station team begins construction work on the station’s roof structure.
Old Oak Common will be the temporary terminus on London when the station opens. The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) is leading plans to transform the wider area around the station, with proposals to deliver 25,000 new homes and 56,000 new jobs.
Image and video credit: HS2
