Railways have always been an important factor in developing an area. The history and development of Ealing Broadway and West Ealing certainly owe something to the arrival of railways. Now there are plans out for consultation for a huge development at Old Oak Common. An article in yesterday’s Evening Standard describes the project whereby some 100 acres of railway sidings and semi-derelict wastland would undergo a £10 billion transformation on the back of HS2.’It would have at its heart a vast new railway hub for Crossrail and the £16 billion HS2 high-speed link from Euston to Birmingham. About a third of all HS2 passengers are expected to transfer at Old Oak Common.’ Backers of the plans claim that the transformation of this area will create 90,000 new jobs and 19,000 new homes. There’s also talk of the railway hub having a station on the Heathrow Express line , adding a new Overground station and linking it to the Great Western main line service.
It’s a few miles away from us in West Ealing but has the potential to make an impact on the whole of West London so I thought it worth a mention on this blog.