Victoria Road Crossover Box and Ancillary Shaft

The Victoria Road Crossover Box, near to Old Oak Common in West London, will allow HS2 trains to switch tracks underground on their approach into the new superhub station.

The Victoria Road Crossover Box site is located to the west of where the new superhub HS2 Old Oak Common station is being constructed. The huge underground box structure will house a crossover track mechanism that will allow HS2 trains to switch between tracks, on the approach and descent from Old Oak Common station.

Construction

The box will be 128 metres in length and 25 metres deep with 1.5-metre-thick walls. The installation of the walls has been completed and excavation works are progressing well. The base slab of the crossover box will be supported by 77 piles, which are being installed 20 metres into the ground below the slab level. Piles are used with the soil is not strong enough to support the load of the structure alone.

The crossover box will also be home to the Victoria Road Ancillary Shaft, which will provide ventilation and emergency access to the rail line once in operation. The shaft has an internal diameter of 25 metres and has been constructed using precast cement rings at the top half, and a sprayed concrete lining technique at the bottom half.

The crossover box was also the site for the launch of two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) to construct the eastern section of the Northolt Tunnel. Each machine will bore 5.5km (3.4 miles) northwest towards Green Park Way vent shaft. The TBMs arrived in May 2023 and were assembled within the shafts. The first TBM launched in February 2024 as part of a 12-month tunnelling programme with the second TBM launched in March 2024.

The site has also been connected to the London Logistics Hub, located at the Willesden Euroterminal, by the West London network conveyor belt network that will remove spoil excavated for the tunnels. The conveyor system will contribute to reducing lorry movements for HS2, removing around 1 million lorries from the road during the construction of HS2.

Fun facts about the Crossover Box

• The crossover box will have a volume of 131,820m³ – the same as 55 Olympic Swimming pools or 800,00 bath tubs.
• The structure will use 3,700 tonnes of reinforcement – that is roughly third of the weight of the Eiffel Tower.
• The depth of the box is the equivalent of 6 double decker buses on top of each other.
• The Piles are 44m long – similar to the height of the Arc de Triomphe.

Design of Victoria Road Crossover Box Headhouse

Viewed from above, the design of the crossover box resembles the shape of a caterpillar, making it the first caterpillar shaft to be excavated in the UK.

Designs for the Victoria Road Ancillary Shaft and Headhouse have been proposed with a focus on a bold, contemporary interpretation of the local industrial vernacular.

Victoria Road Crossover Box Headhouse Schedule 17 design  information boards

Victoria Road Crossover Box Headhouse Schedule 17 design presentation

Design of auto-transformer station and other elements

In July 2025 further design proposals of auto-transformer station and other elements were shared with the members of public ahead of planning submission (schedule 17 application) to the Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) who are the local planning authority in the area.

For details of design please follow the link below.

VRCB Sch 17 Boundary Wall – ATS and other elements info boards July 2025