By Ashley Karen
HS2‘s Old Oak Common Station site has completed two years of permanent construction.
The construction partner, Balfour Beatty Vinci Systra Joint Venture, has installed a 1.9km diaphragm wall for the underground box that will house the six new high-speed platforms. The team has installed 275 diaphragm wall panels and 161 bearing piles, the largest of which is 2.2m in diameter and 57m in length. Last month, the first base slab concrete pour in the western end of the station box was completed.
Excavation of the box is progressing, with more than 465,000m3 of London clay already removed out of 930,000m3 from across the site. The excavated clay is being taken away via part of a 2.7km conveyor network, removing thousands of lorry movements from local roads.
The construction of the HS2 station superstructure and overground platforms for the conventional train network is pleasingly underway. Already, over 900 of the 1,600 concrete piles have been installed.
The piling work began earlier this year on the second half of the super-hub, where the eight platforms will be served by Great Western Mainline and Heathrow Express services.
In addition, the Elizabeth Line will make Old Oak Common its 42nd stop, adding to the area’s transport connections. Platform construction is envisioned to begin later this year.
BBVS has also been busy, completing the demolition of the Wycombe Line Bridge over Old Oak Common Lane at the end of May. This will pave the way for the construction of new Network Rail bridges.
It has been announced that the eastern end of the 10ha site will be handed over to HS2’s London Tunnels contractor, Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture (SCS JV), later this year.
TBM Lydia, which is currently building the 850m-long logistics tunnel from the nearby Atlas Road site, will be responsible for the breakthrough. Two more TBMs will be delivered to Old Oak Common next year to bore the 8km Euston Tunnel.
The government has confirmed its commitment to eventually having HS2 trains terminate at London’s Euston Station, but for now, the service between Old Oak Common and Birmingham will take priority.
HS2 has also confirmed that tunneling to Euston Station has been deferred, although preparations for the launch of the two TBMs for the Euston Tunnel will continue.
