Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the new Old Oak Common station will provide an efficient interchange for passengers travelling between Wales and the north of the UK; what organisations will operate those connections; and what the frequency of those connections will be.

The HS2 Development Agreement sets out the Sponsor’s Requirements for the HS2 scheme. At Old Oak Common, this includes interchange facilities with the Great Western Main Line and Crossrail services.

Our current indicative train service specification that has informed the design of Old Oak Common station assumes that all Great Western franchise and Heathrow Express services will stop at Old Oak Common. This will enable passengers from Wales and other destinations currently served by Paddington bound trains to interchange with HS2 services to the midlands and north of the UK. The frequency of connections is an operational matter that will be determined nearer the time, but we would expect passengers and other stakeholders to be consulted on material changes to future franchise service patterns.