Tate director Nicholas Serota, architect Glenn Howells, place making expert Les Sparks and former Foster’s partner Alistair Lenczer are among the 45 names appointed to a design panel for the HS2 railway.

It is being chaired by dRMM co-founder Sadie Morgan (pictured) who had initially expected to lead a team of around 30 design experts.

But the number has increased by half with members of the team also forming part of regional design panels.

HS2 chief executive Simon Kirby said: “Members from this group will form part of the regional site-specific design panels, for example at Birmingham Curzon Street station so that the whole project benefits from the skills and expertise now available.”

Other panel members include former John McAslan director Hiro Aso, who moved to Gensler over the summer to head up the US firm’s regional transport and infrastructure division, AOC co-founder Daisy Froud, engineer Hanif Kara, specialist bridge architect Martin Knight who set up his eponymous practice back in 2006 after nine years at Wilkinson Eyre and Peter Maxwell, head of design London Legacy Development Corporation.

Also on the panel is OMA director Carol Patterson, Selina Mason, the director at LDA Design in charge of the UCL East campus masterplan at the Olympicopolis site in east London, the former chief executive of the Design Council when it merged with Cabe, David Kester, and Farrells partner Beatrix Young.

Morgan said: “Our aim is to mentor and inspire HS2 to design a transformational railway system which will exceed all of our expectations.”

The panel will provide advice in a number of areas including urban, landscape, digital, brand and product. Last year Thomas Heatherwick was asked to help out in creating a set of design principles for the railway.

Kirby said the HS2 panel had been modelled on the panel that was set up for the 2012 Olympics. He added: “Success resulting from early implementation of a far-sighted design approach can be seen at London’s Olympic Park, where design and development focused on the Games’ legacy and the long-term development and sustainability of the site.”

Construction work on the first phase of the £43 billion railway – between London Euston and Birmingham – is planned to start in 2017 and be completed by 2026. Grimshaw is working on a £2.25 billion plan to extend Euston station which will see up to 11 new platforms built in a bolt-on building to the west of the existing station.