West London MP says HS2 terminating at Old Oak Common will cause havoc on the Elizabeth Line

By Joe Acklam 21st Mar 2023

Local News by Joe Acklam 21st Mar 2023

A London MP has said that if HS2 terminates at Old Oak Common then it will overwhelm Elizabeth Line and potentially cause havoc in Ealing.

Andy Slaughter, the Labour MP for Hammersmith, spoke in the House of Commons and warned that the current plans for HS2 could cause travel chaos on the Elizabeth Line.

The current plans for HS2 will see the high-speed train connection terminate at Old Oak Common, which straddles Acton, Brent, and Hammersmith, and this will mean a large amount of people will get the Elizabeth Line from here, and Slaughter felt terminating in Euston would be better for travel.

Slaughter said: "The consequences of this announcement for Old Oak Common include doubts about the capacity of the Elizabeth line; limited interchange between lines at the station, especially for disabled people; very limited access to the station site; and the postponement of development of HS2 land until after Euston opens.

"Will the Minister meet me and other MPs who are concerned about the indefinite delay to Euston's opening to discuss the consequences for my constituents, which are game-changing?"

Old Oak Common will be connected to central London and Heathrow Airport via the Elizabeth Line, but will not be on any other tube lines, whereas Euston Station is on the Northern Line, Victoria Line, Circle Line, Hammersmith & City Line, and Bakerloo Line, and this will help to break up the number of people on any one train.

In response, Minister of State for Rail and HS2 Huw Merriman said, "Old Oak Common is a massive regeneration opportunity that is being realised for west London. As I have stated, it will be one of the largest train stations delivered.

"It offers connectivity not just into London via the Elizabeth line, but to the west country and Wales via Great Western Railway. One amazing thing about Old Oak Common when I visited was that rather than lorry loads of spoil being taken away through the community, a conveyor has been built so we can use the existing freight line to take the spoil away.