HS2’s funds were splurged on £20,000 worth of Lego to create a small model station. Tens of billions of pounds have been spent on the transport project, with years of delays and setbacks – it has now been revealed by the Telegraph that part of the money was spent on Lego.
Using 15,000 Lego bricks, a model the size of a kitchen table was constructed to demonstrate the proposed plans for the Old Oak Common Station. Bricks McGee was hired and paid for by HS2 to replicate the planned site – it amounted to nearly £1 per brick. It is now used to inform local communities, businesses and the public about the proposed HS2 station. However, it has only been used at just over 20 events since it was constructed two years ago.
Writing on its website, the company responsible for the Lego model first developed a digital mode which was approved, before starting on “the laborious process of building it with real Lego bricks – all 15,000 of them”.
“Bricks were used to bring the model from the screen to its 3D counterpart – everything from the trees and pool to a community art wall, cycle lanes, bus stops and taxis are included,” it said.
Construction of the northern leg was previously cancelled, and it is set to cost the taxpayer more than £80 billion by the time it opens.
Old Oak Common Station is set to be “a new transport superhub in West London offering quick, reliable, and comfortable journeys to the Midlands”, according to HS2. It will include 14 platforms, eight above ground for various lines, including the Elizabeth Line and the Heathrow Express, and six below ground for HS2 trains, spanning up to 400m.
The first stage of opening is expected to connect the Elizabeth line to the mega station. Following this, HS2 trains will connect passengers from London to Birmingham, traveling at 220mph.
Old Oak Common is predicted to be fully operational by 2033, where 250,000 passengers will pass through the station daily.
A spokesman for HS2 said: “Our Lego model of HS2’s Old Oak Common superhub is an informative way to engage local communities, businesses, rail users and the general public about construction of part of Britain’s new high-speed railway.
“It has been seen by thousands of people since it was commissioned more than two years ago, helping those affected by the build, as well as future passengers, better understand the station.”
