Barnet Times (Hammerson criticism), Barnet Press (Hammerson criticism), Evening Standard (Old Oak Common article and 'Hendon response')

(8 October)

Evening Standard: Call to make rail hub 'Stratford of West'

THE planned rail hub at Old Oak Common needs to be the anchor for a 'Stratford of the West' and not just a place to change trains, a Transport for London official has said.

Michele Dix, TfL’s managing director of planning, told the Standard that good local rail connections would be just as important to the area as the HS2 and Crossrail stations.
She said:

"It needs people who live in the west and south-west of London to get to it not just to get on to HS2 but to get to work.

"[We don’t want the junction at Old Oak Common] just being a great big railway interchange like Crewe where you just change trains.

We want to ensure it supports homes and jobs and so we are working with colleagues to ensure that space for development can be made available but also the local connections.

We are consulting on the Overground. We are very keen to have a connection to link it to HS2 and Crossrail. That makes the whole area more of a centre, a bit like Stratford, which has a lot of connections into it."

"When HS2’s Birmingham-to-London section opens in 2026, around one third of the southbound passengers will change at Old Oak Common to connect to Crossrail.

"Old Oak’s proposed Crossrail station, on the new £16 billion line between Paddington and Acton Mainline, could be built in the early 2020s"