HS2 Tunnel Breakthrough Connects Old Oak Common Station to High-Speed Network
Mining teams achieve a significant milestone by breaking through into the Old Oak Common station box, linking it to the wider HS2 route.
By The SME Chronicle Newsroom
••4 min read
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Generic image of tunnel boring machine components and excavation site.
Tunnel mining teams have successfully broken through into HS2’s Old Oak Common station box, marking a significant step in the development of the UK’s new high-speed railway network.
The breakthrough connects what will be London’s first HS2 station with the railway beyond. Once operational, passengers will be able to travel approximately 140 miles from the hub to Birmingham Curzon Street station in around 45 minutes. This new railway is set to more than double peak-time seat capacity between London and Birmingham.
Tunnel excavation began in May 2024 from HS2’s Victoria Road crossover box site. Unlike other HS2 tunnels predominantly built using tunnel boring machines, these two 360-metre long sections were mined entirely through London clay using tunnel excavators and lined with sprayed concrete.
This achievement follows substantial progress across the project, with all deep bore tunnelling between London and Birmingham now complete. More than 80% of major structures are either under construction or finished. In 2025/26, HS2 Ltd exceeded its construction targets by over 10% and met six major milestones ahead of schedule.
Old Oak Common is anticipated to become one of the country’s best-connected rail hubs, converging the high-speed line, Great Western railway, Elizabeth line, and Heathrow Express. This integration aims to connect communities and businesses to new opportunities across London, the West Midlands, and beyond.
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"This is a major milestone for HS2, bringing us a step closer to delivering a world-class transport hub at Old Oak Common and connecting London to Britain’s new high-speed railway.
HS2 will provide much-needed rail capacity, create space for more reliable services across the wider network and help unlock economic growth, homes and jobs in west London, the West Midlands and beyond."
The breakthrough into the station box, and a similar breakthrough for the northbound tunnel on 13 October, employed a novel process for HS2. The tunnel’s dividing wall was cut into blocks and pushed out, Jenga-style, from the station side into the completed tunnel behind.
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"I pay tribute to all those who achieved, and safely delivered, the breakthrough into the Old Oak Common station box. This is a key milestone for the HS2 programme and helps bring us a step closer to achieving our challenging ambition of delivering the railway from Old Oak Common to Birmingham Curzon Street by 2037, or earlier.
We are now in the final stages of a fundamental reset of the entire HS2 programme to deliver the line safely and efficiently between London the West Midlands at the lowest reasonable cost. The prize of our endeavour will be a new high-speed railway for the Great British Railways network, delivering much needed capacity and driving local regeneration. The new HS2 station at Old Oak Common is set to boost the local economy by £10 billion over the next decade."
The construction method was dictated by the tunnels’ engineering specification, which requires their width to narrow from two tracks to one between the crossover box and the station. All 100,000 tonnes of excavated material have been reused in UK projects.
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"Our breakthrough into the Old Oak Common station box is a significant milestone for the project.
This achievement is a credit to the teamwork and dedication of everyone involved, from those working deep underground to those supporting on the surface. We will continue to deliver our work with safety and productivity at the heart of everything we do."
Separately, the two large tunnel boring machines launched from the eastern end of the Old Oak Common station box at the start of 2026 are continuing their 4.5-mile journeys towards HS2’s future central London terminus at Euston, with arrival expected in mid-2027.
Based on information from the official source: HS2 Ltd (04/11/2026)
