Government proposals for a new High Speed 2 (HS2) and Crossrail station at Old Oak in London could make it one of the UK’s best connected railway stations by 2026. The proposed interchange will bring long and medium distance rail access, delivering huge regeneration potential to Old Oak. However, the HS2 Hybrid Bill did not include providing more local rail access via connections to London Overground services.
WSP was appointed in 2013 to work collaboratively with client Transport for London (TfL) and Network Rail to develop and assess opportunities to connect the London Overground network to the HS2 and Crossrail interchange.
The WSP team, including Terry Farrell Architects, Sweets Cost Consultant and Laing O’Rourke, provided engineering, environmental and station planning services to the study, with TfL providing most of the railway planning, operations and public consultations input.
Following an initial review, four preferred options were developed to Grip 2 design level, three of which were further developed to enable a preferred option to be selected. The team worked successfully with TfL to identify a comprehensive train operational and timetabling analysis, pedestrian movement modelling, engineering and environmental assessments, together with construction methodology and programme implications, and developed and evaluated the cost of each option.
Following a public consultation exercise in 2014 and completion of a combined assessment report, TfL’s preferred option was announced in early 2015. This recommends two separate stations to serve the West London Line and the North London Line.
