CONSTRUCTION has started today (June 23) on Old Oak Common station in North Acton, which is projected to be one of the UK's biggest train stations.

According to The Times, the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, is due to visit the site today and described the start of work at Old Oak Common as marking 'yet more progress in delivering HS2'.

The new 'superhub' is the first of four new stations to be built along the initial leg of the line between London and Birmingham as part of the HS2 project.

The station was originally meant to cost £1.3 billion, but that has now reached to £1.67 billion and will be the biggest built from scratch station in the UK.

When completed, it will cater for about 90 million passengers per year, second only to Waterloo.

Old Oak Common will be one of the best-connected stations in the country, with 14 new platforms, of which six will be for HS2 trains, four for Crossrail and four for Great Western Railway.

The Government said the first phase between Old Oak Common and Birmingham could open in 2029, while the main central London terminus for HS2 at Euston is expected in 2031.

HS2 Chief Executive, Mark Thurston, said the start of work at Old Oak Common was a significant step in delivering 'one of the best-connected rail superhubs in the UK'.