Connect more via Old Oak Common
CHRIS HOWE studies Old Oak Common’s network interchange potential and how it is set to be the best-connected rail station in the UK
One criticism sometimes levelled at HS2 by its opponents is that the railway from London to the West Midlands and on to the East Midlands and North West does not connect with the existing network - the assertion being that HS2 is somehow remote and disconnected from existing lines and services.
However, this could not be further from the truth. To begin with, so-called ‘classic compatible’ services will leave the core network and travel on existing lines to places such as Crewe, Warrington, Liverpool and other towns and cities along the West Coast
Main Line, reaching as far north as Glasgow and Edinburgh.
But beyond those classic compatible services, the new stations being built on the core network will also provide opportunities for onward travel.
London Euston has its obvious connections with London Overground services and Northern and Victoria lines. In addition, access from Euston station to Euston Square is set to be improved.
In the West Midlands, the new Curzon Street station in the heart of Birmingham city centre will be adjacent to Moor Street station, providing rail connections across the West Midlands. Plus, it will be only a leisurely fiveminute walk from New Street station.
Birmingham Interchange, located to the south-east of the city, will be connected to Birmingham International and Birmingham Airport by means of a rapid people mover, with International providing connections to Coventry and stations in between.
Further north, Crewe will offer connections across Cheshire and to North Wales, while the new HS2 station in Manchester will be fully integrated with Manchester Piccadilly.
So far, I think it’s safe to say that the critics are wrong when they say HS2 will not connect with the existing network. However, there’s one more new station that will arguably provide some of the best interchange possibilities of them all.
Old Oak Common (OOC) is a new superhub being constructed in north-west London, which HS2 Ltd says is “set to be the best-connected rail station in the UK”.
The new hub will have six HS2 platforms plus eight platforms for Great Western Main Line and Crossrail services, providing connections to Heathrow, Reading, central and east London - including Tottenham Court Road and Canary Wharf, with Crossrail heading as far east as Abbey Wood and Shenfield.
It is also proposed that OOC will be served by Great Western Railway main line services heading west.
Within its Western Route Study, Network Rail said that all GWML services will call at the new OOC platforms - not so much for financial reasons, but operationally it makes more sense to stop all services at OOC, rather than having a mix of stopping and non-stop services passing through the station.
With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to repeat the timing exercise I did in the early 2010s, during my time managing ‘HS2 North West communications campaign’, to see what sort of times could be achieved from a number of destinations in the North to destinations across the South.
Obviously, demand for such services will vary depending on cost and whether or not people will be willing to change at OOC. But for places such as Liverpool and other towns and cities which do not currently have direct services to southern destinations, it may make more sense to change at OOC rather than, say, Birmingham New Street - particularly if many journeys would be much quicker, as the timings suggest.
The number of people choosing to make such journeys may not be substantial, but I believe a not-insignificant number of people would choose to travel by HS2 and Old Oak Common instead of, say, CrossCountry services, which before the pandemic were often overcrowded and relatively slow.
The chart on page 48 sets out some of the interchange possibilities from several northern towns⁄cities. And some of the time savings are significant, with a number of the biggest gains being to London Heathrow and Canary Wharf, which will benefit from frequent Crossrail connections.
For some of the routes, the time savings are mainly down to just how much quicker HS2 services will be when compared with current Avanti services, with the time from
The new hub will have six HS2 platforms plus eight platforms for Great Western Main Line and Crossrail services, providing connections to Heathrow, Reading, central and east London…
Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston slashed from around 2hrs 10mins today to just 1hr 11mins.
However, journeys such as Manchester Piccadilly to Reading are faster still, thanks to the combination of HS2 and improved connectivity at Old Oak Common.
Currently, the fastest way to travel to Reading from Manchester Piccadilly is to travel via CrossCountry service to Bournemouth. Granted, it’s direct, but the time saving of 1hr 30mins via HS2 and GWR services changing at OOC is considerable.
The timing savings I have calculated for Tottenham Court Road aren’t as straightforward, as some people may still prefer to travel via Euston and the Northern Line. Changing at OOC for Crossrail services will be around ten minutes quicker than heading to Euston. However, OOC station will be Zone 3, so would cost an additional £1.30 at today’s prices, when compared with the daily charge for Zone 1-2 travel.
I think that’s only a modest price difference for the additional benefits such as the time saving and having the opportunity to travel on Crossrail trains rather than Northern Line Tube stock.
Heading west, one of the biggest wins is for services to Heathrow Airport, which despite being cut from the HS2 route during the early planning stages, will be significantly quicker and easier to get to once HS2 is constructed.
Currently, travelling from Glasgow Central to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 by rail takes 5hrs 30mins and involves changing
trains twice. Upon reaching Euston onboard the current Avanti service, you must walk to Euston Square to catch Underground services heading to Paddington, to then catch Heathrow Express services.
With HS2 and OOC, you will only need to change trains once - to catch either Crossrail or Heathrow Express services.
The journey time from Glasgow Central to Heathrow via Crossrail services would be 4hrs 11mins. However, if Heathrow Express continues to operate beyond 2028 (the length of the current Heathrow Express contract), then a further eight or nine minutes could be cut from that time. Even a journey time of 4hrs 11mins is still over 1hr 15mins quicker than the current quickest time.
As you travel further west, some of the journey time savings start to drop off, and in some cases it makes more sense to use existing CrossCountry services. However, journey times as far west as Swindon are significantly shorter travelling by HS2 and GWR services.
For example, Liverpool to Swindon currently takes 3hrs 50mins travelling via the WCML to Euston, then making your way to Paddington for GWR services. But with HS2, that time is cut to just 2hrs 40mins.
For Bristol Temple Meads, the only significant journey time saving is from Glasgow Central, which could be half an hour faster via HS2 and Old Oak Common than current services travelling via Birmingham New Street.
Swindon and Reading may not seem like top destinations for people travelling from the North, but what I hope to demonstrate is the step-change in connectivity that HS2 and Old Oak Common will provide - not just to London or Heathrow, but across the South.
And this is just one of the direct benefits that HS2 will bring, without factoring in the potential for HS2 to release capacity on the WCML for further improved local and regional links.
I believe a not-insignificant number of people would choose to travel by HS2 and Old Oak Common instead of, say, CrossCountry services, which before the pandemic were often overcrowded and relatively slow.