HS2 in Brent and Ealing

The Government updated Parliament on their transport capital investment programme on 9 March 2023. A copy of the Transport Secretary’s statement is available online here. The statement included an update on the HS2 project, recognising significant inflationary pressures facing all parts of the UK economy.

​In line with direction from the Government following its announcement in March 2023, work at the Canterbury Works site will be brought to a safe stop, and paused between summer 2024 and summer 2025. Until this time activities will continue as planned at the site. These dates could be subject to change, and we will keep the community updated about any changes. During the pause in works, the site hoarding and 24-hour security will remain in place.

We will continue to maintain the site and carry out any required traffic management and environmental monitoring. Some works will continue, within and outside the site, including monitoring, surveys, and design work.

Please see this community notification with further information about what construction activities will continue until the pause in works.

We have a requirement to lower Old Oak Common Lane to enable double decker buses to pass under the rail bridges. This is a legal commitment that has been provided to Transport for London (TfL).

To make the road lowering possible, we will need to move all of the utilities out of the road and run them through the new mini tunnels already in place under the side of the road under the railway.

New bridges must also be built to accommodate the railway lines needed for Great Western Mainline and Elizabeth Line into the new station.

Other work required includes constructing a new retaining wall for the Hitachi North Pole Maintenance Depot and new cycle and pedestrian pathways, as Old Oak Common Lane will be widened so that the pathways are able to run along both sides of the road.

We are currently exploring a number of options to undertake the works on Old Oak Common Lane, and we’re at the very beginning of this process. No decisions have been made on the length of the road closure and we will be working closely with the local authorities, TfL, emergency services, local communities and businesses, utility companies and others to plan these works.

We don’t have a start date for the road closure yet as we are still at an early stage of planning the works, but we will keep you informed as soon as we have further information on this. However, we won’t be closing the road until early 2025 at the earliest.

Read our Frequently Asked Questions 

Use the links below to find out about works at our main sites in the Brent and Ealing area.

• Main site activities in the Mandeville Road area

We will continue to carry out works to excavate and line the vent shaft and supporting structures until May 2024, when the works will be paused in line with the Government announcement in March 2023. You can find out more about the pause in works here.

Extended working hours are in place, with 24 hour working Monday to Friday, and works from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. You may notice noise and vibration from site activities, including the use of excavators and cranes. During the night shift, most work will be below ground.

We apologise for any disruption caused by these works, and we are working to minimise impacts as far as possible.

During the pause in works, the site hoarding and 24-hour security will remain in place. We will continue to maintain the site and carry out any required traffic management and environmental monitoring. Large machinery will be removed from site. Some works will continue, within and outside the site, including monitoring, surveys, and design work.

We will carry out works to build the headhouse structure until May 2024.

Our construction team plans to work within the core hours of 8am to 6pm. However, extended working hours are in place, with 24 hour working Monday to Friday, and works from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. You may notice noise and vibration from site activities, including the use of excavators and cranes.
We apologise for any disruption caused by these works, and we are working to minimise impacts as far as possible.

We will continue to carry out works to excavate and line the main and the satellite ventilation shafts and supporting structures until September 2024.

Extended working hours are in place, with 24 hour working Monday to Friday, and works from 8am to 1pm on Saturdays. Noise and vibration monitors are in place and there should not be any impact to the community due to the works location. During the night shift, most work will be below ground.

We apologise for any disruption caused by these works, and we are working to minimise impacts as far as possible.

These works are to install a new gas main on Greenford Road at the junction of Rockware Avenue. This involves a lane closure.

Due to an additional requirement to move communication cables that are too close to the gas pipe, we now need more time to complete these works.

We now expect to be finished by 14 May 2024.

The gas diversion works have now been completed. We will resume works in this area from March 2024.

Following our recent ground movement assessments in the West Gate area, we know we will need to upgrade the gas mains as part of the upcoming HS2 tunnelling works. We need to divert the gas mains to prevent it becoming damaged in the future before starting our upcoming tunnelling works.

The gas diversion will run across the A40 and onto Brunswick Road. Phase one of these works will begin on 6 November 2023 and is due to be completed on 7 June 2024. We expect the overall works to last until 4 November 2024.

The works will take place between 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 10pm to 6am. We will use noise reducing barriers where possible to help minimise any noise disruption to the local community, working as efficiently as possible whilst keeping our work areas safe and tidy.

We need to replace a section of the gas main on Kilburn High Road, at the junction with Oxford Road and Greville Road. Dates and phasing for these works are in discussion with Transport for London (TfL), London Borough of Brent, London Borough of Camden and City of Westminster. Further information will be provided at HS2.org.uk/in-your-area/