HS2

HS2 land acquisition costs could spiral five times higher than projected

07.02.19: The cost of acquiring land and property for Phase 1 of HS2 could be almost five times the original estimation. Forecasts based on freedom of information requests from an anti-HS2 campaign group have revealed that the total land costs could...

HS2 unveils construction teams for major Euston and Old Oak Common station builds

06.02.19: HS2 has revealed the construction teams awarded contracts to deliver the London Euston terminus and the super-hub Old Oak Common station. In deals worth £2.56bn that are expected to bring up to 4,000 jobs to the UK, the construction p...

Old Oak Common to be UK’s best-connected rail interchange as HS2 reveals new station designs

05.02.19: HS2 Ltd has unveiled its plans for the Old Oak Common station, releasing designs for the new “landmark piece of architecture” including high-speed platforms located underground. The design plans say that Old Oak Common will be t...

High-speed rail cannot stand in isolation

05.02.19: Last year, the Scottish Government announced two feasibility studies to better understand the economic and environmental implications of options to improve capacity between the country and London. Frazer Henderson, head of high-speed and cross-b...

Grayling: government will not 'betray' Midlands or north and will deliver HS2

25.01.19: The transport secretary has reaffirmed that the government is committed to delivering the second phase of HS2 in its entirety, claiming that failure to deliver it would be a “dereliction” of government duties to improve people’...

Regional leaders urge major parties to publicly back building HS2 Phase 2 route

24.01.19: Bodies from the Midlands and the north of England have written an open letter to the leaders of the four major parties calling for them to publicly commit to building Phase 2 of the £56bn HS2 route. The letter penned by the Northern P...

‘Nobody knows’ what final HS2 cost will be, Sir Terry Morgan says

23.01.19: The former chairman of HS2 has reaffirmed concerns that the project could be heavily changed after claiming “something will have to give” on the time, scope, and cost of the £56bn high-speed rail link. Speaking to the Hous...

Council and business leaders issue warning over investment in HS2 plans for the north east

15.01.19: Business leaders and local councils have written to the HS2 chairman calling for urgent investment in the East Coast Main Line (ECML), warning that without money for high-speed rail in the north east, HS2 risks harming the region. In a join...

Surveying our past along the HS2 route

15.01.19: Surveyor Richard Bath and principal archaeologist and works package manager Caroline Raynor, both of the Costain-Skanska Joint Venture (CSJV), talk us through some of the tech being used on the archaeological digs along the planned HS2 route. ...

HS2 could run fewer and slower trains to keep within budget and schedule, warns chief executive

14.01.19: HS2 could be forced to run fewer trains and at slower speeds in order to keep the high-speed rail project within its £56m budget, its chief executive has said. The flagship project will establish a high-speed rail link between London...

Concerns raised over HS2 as Treasury chief warns government must be prepared to scrap ‘white elephant’ projects

08.01.19: Chief secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss has warned that HS2 could be scrapped as she said the government must be prepared to “junk white elephant” projects after Brexit. Truss is leading a major government spending review this...

Ambitious £10bn plans for Gatwick Heathrow HS4Air rail service rejected

04.01.19: Plans to build a new £10bn high-speed rail service connecting HS1 with HS2 via Gatwick and Heathrow airports have been rejected by the DfT. The ambitious plans would see passengers able to travel between Heathrow and Gatwick in under...

HS2 project part of new East Midlands manufacturing zones scheme

03.01.19: A north Derbyshire HS2 project has been named as one of the locations of the UK’s first manufacturing zones in the East Midlands. Communities secretary James Brokenshire has announced that four projects have been chosen to form the ne...

MPs misled over ‘enormously wrong’ land costs for HS2, reveals whistleblower

17.12.18: A whistleblowing former executive at HS2 has revealed that the land cost estimate given to MPs before they approved the high-speed rail project was “enormously wrong.” The whistle-blower declared that the decision to approve HS2...

HS1 and Crossrail suppliers admit to running ‘illegal cartel’ for 7 years

14.12.18: Two UK rail suppliers to major projects such as HS1 and Crossrail have admitted to operating an illegal cartel for almost seven years with the goal of increasing prices and reducing competition in the drainage market. The Competition and Ma...