Old Oak Common railway station

Old Oak Common
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	Proposed to open
Other information
Lists of stations	DLR Underground National Rail Tramlink
WGS84	51°31′30″N 0°14′48″W / 51.524873°N 0.24672°WCoordinates: 51°31′30″N 0°14′48″W / 51.524873°N 0.24672°W
London Transport portal

Old Oak Common is a planned^[2] railway station in Old Oak Common, northwest London, England. The station is to 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 estimated opening date of 2026. The redevelopment area around the proposed stations has been provisionally renamed New Queens Park.^[3]

The new station has been included as a part of the proposed High Speed 2 line from London Euston to Birmingham. The station would 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 planned High Speed 2 line would be in tunnel at the Old Oak Common site, with the Great Western Main Line and Crossrail tracks on the surface.

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 the proposals issued in 2010 by the Department for Transport (DfT), Old Oak Common would 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 services

While the station remains at the proposal stage, the following table illustrates the potential range of services, based on current DfT and TfL^[6] documentation but subject to change:

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 Govia Thameslink Railway Southern's cross-London services to 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

The Transport for London consultation process has concluded that have 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.

The 2010 DfT proposal outlines 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]

Other proposals

High Speed 2
Legend
High Speed 3 Manchester Piccadilly Leeds to East Coast Main Line West Coast Main Line Midland Main Line Manchester Interchange Classic-compatible loop Sheffield Midland Crewe Chesterfield Classic-compatible loop East Midlands Hub Phase 1–Phase 2 boundary to Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester West Coast Main Line Phase 1–Phase 2 boundary Snow Hill Lines Birmingham New Street Birmingham Curzon Street[b 1] Birmingham Moor Street Birmingham International Birmingham Interchange West Coast Main Line Maintenance Loop Wormleighton Infrastructure Maintenance Depot Calvert Maintenance Loop Stoke Mandeville Heathrow Airport Phase 1–Phase 2 boundary London Overground Old Oak Common Great Western Main Line and Crossrail to High Speed 1 West Coast Main Line Euston
Alternatively named Birmingham Fazeley Street

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,^[12] 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.^[13]

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.^[14] 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.^[15] Under this scheme, the west London interchange would be situated at Heathrow rather than at Old Oak Common.^[16] Conservative MP Theresa Villiers (now a 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.^[17]

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.".^[18]

The Old Oak Common plans are supported by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.^[19]

Lord Mawhinney, a former Conservative MP for Peterborough has concluded that High Speed 2 (HS2) the London terminus should be at Old Oak Common, not at Euston. This idea goes against the Conservative Party's first idea that Old Oak Common should not even be built. This is because of tunnelling cost along with fast turnaround times at Old Oak Common.^[20]

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.^[21]

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.

• 
  The view east over Old Oak Common TMD in 2005
• 
  The same view as seen in 2013
• 
  The Great Western Main Line (and future Crossrail route) passes through Old Oak Common

See also

• Old Oak Common Traction Maintenance Depot

References

1. "DfT map of station" (PDF).
2. "Go-ahead given to new railway". Department for Transport. January 2012.
3. QPR announce plans for new 40,000-seater stadium at Old Oak
4. "High Speed Rail" (PDF). Department for Transport. p. 107. 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). Retrieved 23 March 2010.
6. "Proposed London Overground network at 2026" (PDF). Transport for London. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
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. "Old Oak Common Interchange: A Supporting Submission to HS2" (PDF). Retrieved 23 March 2010.
13. "8. Potential new lines". London and South East Route Utilisation Strategy. July 2011. pp. 149–153.
14. "Diagram of Old Oak Common area" (PDF). Campaign for Better Transport. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
15. Milmo, Dan (4 March 2010). "No Heathrow direct link in high speed rail plans". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
16. "Heathrow Hub proposals published". Arup. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 29 May 2010.
17. Cecil, Nicholas (12 March 2010). "Boris Johnson clashes with David Cameron on high-speed rail". Retrieved 29 May 2010.
18. Sadek, Jackie. "Transport secretary chops down Old Oak High Speed 2 interchange - The Regeneration Blog". Estatesgazette.com. Retrieved 2013-03-26.
19. "Old Oak Common: The Transport and Regeneration Case for a HS2 Interchange" (PDF). London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. December 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2010.
20. No business case' to divert HS2 via Heathrow, say Mawhinney Page 6-7, Rail Magazine, Issue 649, 28 July to 10 August 2010
21. "Launch of 'Park Royal City'". London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. Retrieved 14 October 2011.

External links

• "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.
  • a detailed map of Old Oak Common station is presented on Map 2: Route from West Kilburn to Park Royal - drawing number HS2-ARP-00-DR-RW-05002 (PDF, 10214KB)
• "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)