The complete timetable for delivering four stations in London and Birmingham has recently been released by HS2, providing optimism and a sense of anticipation for the works to begin in the coming years. It is expected that the contracts for the construction of the stations will go out to tender during Q1 of 2018, with preferred bidders set to then be announced in the early stages of 2019.

Works across the stations will incorporate the development of the Euston station, in addition to the building of a new station in West London, as well as two in the city of Birmingham.

The works have a predicted costing of greater than £6bn in total, with the schedule for completion on the three new stations to be built pencilled in for 2026 – a date we can be sure to view with much anticipation, yet also at a date with more than enough opportunity for further development or changes in the meantime.

Not everything is scheduled to be completed by 2026 however, with HS2 highlighting just over half of the eleven platforms at Euston to be finished by the same date, with five more to follow in the times coming up to 2033.

Of course, it’s great to see HS2 getting the ball rolling regardless, and it is expected that HS2 will be looking to start its procurement process for the phase one stations by this Christmas, with Simon Kirby, Chief Executive of HS2 hoping for a procurement strategy to be ready for announcement by the end of this year for all four areas.

As such, HS2 is expected to begin communication with prospective partners for both the desgn and build at supplier events coming over the course of the year. In fact, it is expected that the design packages for the aforementioned stations is to be sent out to tender further into 2016.