The latest designs for HS2 west London super-hub at Old Oak Common have been unveiled. Kick-starting the UK’s largest regeneration project, the new high speed station aims to transform the former railway and industrial area, into a new neighbourhood supporting up to 65,000 jobs and 25,500 new homes. The high-speed
Ahead of High Speed Two (HS2) Limited beginning construction of a train maintenance depot in Washwood Heath, demolition of a former railway works in Birmingham is now well underway. The demolition covers a site larger than 110,000 square-metres and is being carried out by HS2 Ltd alongside their early works
The first tower crane has arrived at Euston Station, marking a major step forward for the transformation project. The project, which will be completed as part of the HS2 project, will deliver extra capacity to the station. HS2 will now progress with the demolition of One Euston Square and Grant Thornton
Today, HS2 set out plans to deliver a ‘green corridor’ consisting of new wildlife habitats, native woodlands and community spaces to help integrate the new line into its surrounding landscape and environment. The scale of planned works will be largest ever undertaken by an infrastructure project in the UK, with
High-speed rail connecting all of the UK mainland by 2050 would put “rocket fuel in Britain’s economy”, a leading transport think tank has proposed. The move would shrink a long-standing productivity gap with countries such as Germany, Italy and France, Greengauge 21 said. It would also reduce an over-reliance on
Three construction consortiums have secured up to £900 million worth of contracts for the first phase of HS2. Included in the enabling works deals are archaeological investigations, site clearance and the setting up of construction compounds before the main civil engineering work gets under way. The successful firms are: •
The preferred bidders for the first three contracts to build the £55.7 billion HS2 rail line have been chosen. It is understood that joint ventures between Costain / Skanska, Morgan Sindall / Bam Nuttall / Ferrovial and Laing O’Rourke / Murphy have been chosen as the successful bidders for the
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has confirmed that the government is staying committed to the £50 billion High Speed 2 rail project despite the change in Downing Street occupants. HS2 was a key government scheme under former prime minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne, but since they have been replacement
A new project director has been appointed to the HS2 joint venture between Morgan Sindall, Bam Nuttall and Ferrovial. Mike Robins will join the Fusion team having worked overseas for the last five years. Most recently, he helped to deliver the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation’s Express Rail Link
Most recently the Balfour Beatty Vinci JV has announced its selection for the design partnership in delivering the project for HS2 – specifically, the Mott MacDonald – Systra JV, seeing synchronisation in the British and French pairing of contractor to consulting engineer. It is of no surprise that Mott MacDonald
The latest designs for HS2 west London super-hub at Old Oak Common have been unveiled. Kick-starting the UK’s largest regeneration project, the new high speed station aims to transform the former railway and industrial area, into a new neighbourhood supporting up to 65,000 jobs and 25,500 new homes. The high-speed platforms will be built below ground with connections to the adjoining ground level conventional station with an overbridge to Elizabeth line (Crossrail) trains, to Heathrow and central London. The current station design also includes the potential for provision of future services to Wales and the west of England from Old Oak Common. The two halves of the station will be linked by a light and airy concourse with a soaring roof inspired by the site’s industrial heritage. The six 450 m HS2 platforms will be built in a 1 km long underground box, with twin tunnels taking high-speed trains east to the terminus at Euston and west to the outskirts of London. Passengers will be taken down to the HS2 platforms by escalators, while a new public park will be built above them. Material excavated during work on the tunnels will be removed by rail from the nearby former Willesden Euroterminal depot. The long-term planning and development of the wider site is being led by the Mayor’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, which is planning a mixed-use development, with commercial, residential and leisure uses. “The arrival of HS2 has the potential to transform Old Oak Common, unlocking thousands of new jobs and homes around the UK’s best connected transport hub. Linking HS2 and Crossrail, our new station will be a landmark piece of architecture at the heart of the development, designed around the passenger to ensure seamless, accessible and stress-free travel. We want the community to be a part of the design process and we are asking for their views on the latest plans,” said Matthew Botelle, HS2’s Old Oak Common Project Director. HS2 is currently working to clear the site and prepare the ground for the start of construction, later this year.
Ahead of High Speed Two (HS2) Limited beginning construction of a train maintenance depot in Washwood Heath, demolition of a former railway works in Birmingham is now well underway. The demolition covers a site larger than 110,000 square-metres and is being carried out by HS2 Ltd alongside their early works contractor, Birmingham-based LM JV. The site at Washwood Heath was originally home to a depot that measured 782,622 cubic metres of buildings and structures, and these are now in the process of being demolished. This has yielded a total of 412,464 tonnes of demolition materials – the equivalent weight of 68 Birmingham BT Towers – and this will be predominantly reused on site, significantly reducing the need for landfill and lorry movements. Mike Lyons, Programme Director of Phase One in the Midlands said: “As we prepare for the construction of HS2, there is a huge amount of work going on at sites in the Midlands, including land clearance, habitat creation, tree planting, demolitions, archaeology, road improvement works and utility diversions. “We currently have 62 live sites across the whole Phase One route, servicing over 250 work locations. Over 7,000 jobs are supported by HS2, and over 300 companies in the Midlands are already working on the project.” HS2 trains will be maintained at Washwood Heath, and activities at the facility will include cleaning, servicing, and routine repairs of the new high-speed fleet. The depot will employ up to 500 staff working in shifts, either in jobs within the depot, maintenance and support workers, or train drivers who will start and finish their day there. It will be HS2’s only rolling stock maintenance depot for Phases One and 2a of the UK’s new high-speed rail network. Formerly known as the Washwood Heath Railway Works, the site was last used by Alstom. It is the preferred location for HS2’s future depot because it is centrally located in relation to the completed HS2 network, which will extend to Leeds and Manchester.
The first tower crane has arrived at Euston Station, marking a major step forward for the transformation project. The project, which will be completed as part of the HS2 project, will deliver extra capacity to the station. HS2 will now progress with the demolition of One Euston Square and Grant Thornton House, which stand above the entrance and exit to Euston’s old underground taxi rank. It is expected to take 10 months to complete. “HS2 will transform Euston, delivering much-needed extra capacity and better journeys for the 44 million people who use the station every year. We are already hard at work, delivering essential pre-construction work, including archaeology, utility diversions and of course, the demolition of the two Euston towers. The opening of the new taxi rank and the delivery of the project’s first tower crane is a significant milestone for HS2 and I would like to thank everyone involved in making it happen,” said HS2’s London Programme Director, Rob Carr. Early works contractor, a Costain and Skanska joint venture (CSjv), is currently working with expert subcontractors McGee, stripping out the interiors and erecting the scaffolding that will support acoustic screening around the buildings. “Costain and Skanska have successfully delivered many major infrastructure projects and are pleased to be delivering the HS2 enabling works programme in London. Our work continues to gather pace and constructing this temporary taxi rank to replace the underground taxi rank is vital to allow us to demolish the two large office towers at Euston,” commented CSjv’s Programe Director, Peter Jones. These landmark steps come after the station’s new taxi rank was opened to the public on Sunday 06 January. The new rank, delivered alongside TfL and Network Rail, has capacity for around 40 vehicles and has been designed to incorporate as many of the existing trees as possible.
Today, HS2 set out plans to deliver a ‘green corridor’ consisting of new wildlife habitats, native woodlands and community spaces to help integrate the new line into its surrounding landscape and environment. The scale of planned works will be largest ever undertaken by an infrastructure project in the UK, with a network of environmental projects stretching from London to the North of England. Along the Phase One route, which covers 216km from London to the West Midlands, the green corridor will encompass: 7 million new trees and shrubs, including over 40 native species, specific to each location. The new native woodlands will cover over 9 square kilometres of land. Over 33 square kilometres of new and existing wildlife habitat – equating to an area the size of 4,600 football pitches. That’s an increase of around 30% compared to what’s there now. Tailor-made homes for wildlife, ranging from bat houses to 226 new ponds for great crested newts and other amphibians. Earthworks and landscaping which will re-use around 90% of the material excavated during construction. The potential to support community projects and develop amenity spaces such as access routes, public parks, open spaces and nature reserves. Work on the pioneering initiative is expected to set new standards for how Britain and the rest of Europe builds the next generation of major infrastructure projects. As the corridor is being delivered, HS2 is encouraging local people and organisations to get involved in everything from landscape design to tree planting. This includes supporting local environmental projects through its various community funds. In a related announcement today, the Government confirmed a £2 million extension to the HS2 Woodland Fund, so it can cover Phase 2a of the railway, from the West Midlands to Crewe. The fund is designed to help landowners near to the route directly create new native, broadleaf woodlands and restore existing ancient woodland sites. This is in addition to the extensive green corridor plans and community funds that are already in place along the wider route. Mark Thurston, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd said: “Alongside improving connectivity, boosting the economy and unlocking new jobs and opportunities, I’m determined to ensure that HS2 also works for the environment and local communities. “This starts by doing everything we can to reduce our environmental footprint and minimise the expected impact of our construction work. Longer-term, we’ll be leaving behind a network of new wildlife habitats, woodlands, and community spaces, helping to create a lasting legacy along the route. “We’ve already got to work by supporting a range of community projects and creating a series of new habitats, including planting over 230,000 trees so far. We’ll be calling on local people and organisations to get involved as the green corridor starts to take shape” Nusrat Ghani, HS2 Minister, said: “Our unique and beautiful countryside is one of our nation’s greatest assets. As we deliver the new high speed railway our country needs, for economic growth and better journeys for passengers, it is imperative we set a new standard for preserving, protecting and enhancing our diverse woodlands and wildlife. “HS2’s green corridor is one of the most significant tree-planting and habitat creation projects ever undertaken in this country. To support that vision, the government is providing an additional £2 million for the Woodland Fund, to support native species and help more people enjoy more new green spaces than before.” The appearance of the green corridor will be tailored to the surrounding environment, with native tree species used to ensure that the new woodlands reflect the unique landscape and ecology of the different regions the line passes through. As the corridor is gradually delivered, HS2 is encouraging local people and organisations to get involved. This includes supporting local environmental projects, through its various funds including the £45m Community & Environment Fund and Business & Local Economy Fund. Full details are covered in HS2’s official ‘More Than a Railway’ booklet and animation – both published on its website today.
High-speed rail connecting all of the UK mainland by 2050 would put “rocket fuel in Britain’s economy”, a leading transport think tank has proposed. The move would shrink a long-standing productivity gap with countries such as Germany, Italy and France, Greengauge 21 said. It would also reduce an over-reliance on London by lowering journey times and allowing other cities to flourish, it added. A new connection in the West Midlands would see HS2 trains speed to cities such as Bristol, Cardiff, Newcastle and Edinburgh, reducing the need for environmentally harmful cars, the group suggested. HS2 is a planned high-speed rail network, with trains holding more than 1,000 commuters travelling up to 250 mph, from London to Birmingham and to Manchester and Leeds. Services on the London-Birmingham phase of the £56 billion network are predicted to open from 2026. Greengauge 21 director Jim Steer said: “Britain lacks a long-term national railway strategy beyond HS2. “We need a plan to put rocket fuel into our economic productivity and today’s report sets out proposals to do so. “It is vital for the future of the country that no region is left behind, and the national railway strategy needs to reach all parts of the country.” The report, titled Beyond HS2, said boosting national productivity should be the guiding priority for re-designing the rail network.
Three construction consortiums have secured up to £900 million worth of contracts for the first phase of HS2. Included in the enabling works deals are archaeological investigations, site clearance and the setting up of construction compounds before the main civil engineering work gets under way. The successful firms are: • Area South – CS JV (Costain Group Plc, Skanska Construction UK Ltd) • Area Central – Fusion JV (Morgan Sindall Plc, BAM Nuttall Ltd, Ferrovial Agroman (UK) Ltd) • Area North – LM JV (Laing O’Rourke Construction Ltd, J Murphy & Sons Ltd) Transport Secretary Chris Grayling also revealed the preferred route for Phase Two of HS2 from Crewe to Manchester, and from the West Midlands to Leeds. On the western section of the scheme, a previously proposed rolling stock depot at Golborne will be relocated to a site north of Crewe, while the approach to Manchester Piccadilly will move 370 metres eastwards with the northern tunnel portal in Ardwick. Furthermore, the Middlewich – Northwich area route will move 800 metres to the west. On the eastern leg, there are plans to move the route to the east of Measham in Leicestershire; to go around instead of tunnel under East Midlands Airport; to amend the alignment of the preferred route as it passes through Long Eaton to reduce severance in the local community and reduce impacts on the highway network and existing rail infrastructure; and to move the alignment of the route from Derbyshire to West Yorkshire. Minister Grayling commented: “HS2 is an ambitious and exciting project and we must seize the opportunity it offers to transform our country for future generations. The route decision I have published today takes us an important step closer to realising the full potential of HS2.” Leeds City Council Leader Judith Blake welcomed the preferred route option as well as plans to redevelop Leeds Station. She said: “This is very welcome news not only to provide further confidence that HS2 will be completed in its entirety but also to offer certainty in that everyone can now know exactly where and how it will come into Leeds. That is hugely important as now planning at all levels can be carried out in an informed way around HS2, what it means and where it will go.”
The preferred bidders for the first three contracts to build the £55.7 billion HS2 rail line have been chosen. It is understood that joint ventures between Costain / Skanska, Morgan Sindall / Bam Nuttall / Ferrovial and Laing O’Rourke / Murphy have been chosen as the successful bidders for the three phase one enabling packages worth a combined total of £900 million. Last December, the shortlist for the £300 million enabling packages was revealed, with five consortiums battling it out for each of the North, Central and South sections of the line. It is understood that Costain / Skanska has won the southern section of the line, Laing O’Rourke / Murphy has scooped the northern section and Morgan Sindall / Bam Nuttall / Ferrovial’s Fusion JV will take on the central section. The procurement process is now set to go into a period of standstill, with official contracts set to be awarded in the next few weeks if there are no challenges. Major joint ventures between Balfour Beatty / Vinci and Carillion / Eiffage / Kier missed out on all three lots, while Bouygues / Sir Robert McAlpine / Morrison Utility Services / VolkerFitzpatrick and Galliford Try / Hochtief / Dragados missed out on one each. Included in the work will be site clearances, structural reinforcements, demolition, drainage and other associated work. The work is due to get underway early next year. The award of the enabling contract has come almost two months later than scheduled, with companies having initially expected a decision to be made on HS2 in August. Last week, companies submitted bids for the first of the seven civil packages, worth a total of £11.8 billion. Bids for the remaining six packages will be submitted between now and Christmas. HS2 expects to award the civils packages in the spring, which have a combined value of £11.8bn.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling has confirmed that the government is staying committed to the £50 billion High Speed 2 rail project despite the change in Downing Street occupants. HS2 was a key government scheme under former prime minister David Cameron and chancellor George Osborne, but since they have been replacement by Theresa May and Philip Hammond, uncertainty has crept into a number of policy areas, not least because the implications of the UK leaving the European Union are still not known. The many opponents of the scheme had hoped that HS2 could fall victim to budget cuts under the new regime. However, Mr Grayling has confirmed that construction work on HS2 will indeed begin in the first half of next year as planned. Grayling commented: “We need HS2 now more than ever. “We’re facing a rapidly approaching crunch-point. In the last 20 years alone, the number of people travelling on our railways has more than doubled and our rail network is the most intensively used of any in Europe. “We need HS2 for the capacity it will bring on the routes between London, the West Midlands, Crewe, Leeds and Manchester as well as the space it’ll create elsewhere on our transport network. “We need it for the boost it will give to our regional and national economies. And we need it for the jobs it will create, and for the way it will link our country together.” He also added that a decision on the HS2 Phase Two route to Manchester and Leeds will be taken before the end of this year. Last month, a number of MPs said that the HS2 rail link needs a “realistic timetable” and believe that the current schedule is “overly ambitious.” The Public Accounts Committee said “it is not convinced” that the first phase of the £56bn rail line – linking London and Birmingham – will open at the end of 2026 as planned.
A new project director has been appointed to the HS2 joint venture between Morgan Sindall, Bam Nuttall and Ferrovial. Mike Robins will join the Fusion team having worked overseas for the last five years. Most recently, he helped to deliver the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Corporation’s Express Rail Link to China and has also worked on Queensland Curtis Liquefied Natural Gas for QGC in Australia. Mr Robins has been employed by all three companies in the joint venture in a number of roles, working with Ferrovial on developing Heathrow’s Terminal 2A, with Morgan Sindall on Heathrow’s Terminal 5 and with Bam Nuttall on Queensland Gas Company’s Icthys offshore gas project. Currently, the Fusion team is bidding for all three of the HS2 Phase One enabling packages, which are expected to be awarded early next month. It has also been shortlisted for four of the Phase One seven civils packages, worth a combined total of £11.8 billion. Last November, former Laing O’Rourke Europe boss Roger Robinson was appointed chairman of the Fusion joint venture. Mr Robinson commented: “Mike’s appointment is part of our ongoing preparation plan realising our commitment to HS2. “Mike’s pedigree in leadership on major infrastructure programmes is widely recognised, and I am personally delighted that he is attracted by the HS2 project and importantly, by Fusion and has consequently decided to join our team. I am looking forward to working with Mike again.” Meanwhile, May of London Sadiq Khan has said that he thinks the “right solution” for the High Speed 2 redevelopment of Euston station is still to be found. The Mayor claims that more work is “urgently required” and called on the Department for Transport to think “more radically”. He repeated his suggestion that the link, set to open fully in 2033, should terminate temporarily at the Old Oak Common interchange.
Most recently the Balfour Beatty Vinci JV has announced its selection for the design partnership in delivering the project for HS2 – specifically, the Mott MacDonald – Systra JV, seeing synchronisation in the British and French pairing of contractor to consulting engineer. It is of no surprise that Mott MacDonald has been selected for the project, with the company having a great deal of experience in the high-speed rail sector globally, as well as its noted involvement in HS2 for the past six years – this has seen the company provide a wide range of engineering, environmental and planning services. On a global scale, Mott MacDonald has been working on a number of leading high-speed projects, including the management of environmental, public consultation and engineering for the Palmdale – Los Angeles segment for the California High Speed Train Project; additionally also providing engineering design services for the segment between Palmdale and Fresno. Mott MacDonald has also been working on the Taipei – Kaohsiung system in China, as well as the HSL Zuid system for the Netherlands. As for Systra, it is notable that the organisation has seen involvement in every single rail line for France, as well as 50% of those around the globe, making the company’s addition to the HS2 delivery team again, a logical choice. Most specifically, the company has been involved in Crossrail as well as the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme, and serves as a piece of the design consortium for the South East Atlantic High Speed line, also with Vinci. As for those contractors yet to be appointed to the packages for the main civil engineering side of the works, it is predicted that these will be revealed further into 2016, coming just in time for the enabling works to begin next year and previous to the commencement of the civil engineering side of works on phase one – between West Midlands and London itself.
