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-metre-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 metres by 4 metres 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 42nd stop 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.”
Steve O’Sullivan, project director at Balfour Beatty VINCI SYSTRA joint venture, commented: “This achievement reflects the expertise of our multidisciplinary teams who have worked collaboratively to deliver one of the most technically challenging stations currently being built in the UK, drawing on world-class engineering, specialist knowledge and a shared commitment to excellence.
“As the full scale, form and function of the station is starting to come into view there is a tremendous sense of pride in what has been accomplished so far to transform an ambitious design into a functioning transport hub, with our focus now on progressing works into the next phase.”
Image credit: HS2
