HS2

HS2 admits to ‘serious error’ in £1.76m redundancy payments overspend

20.07.17: HS2 has already exceeded rates set by the DfT for the costs of redundancy pay by £1.76m, a report on the company’s accounts by the NAO has today revealed. Despite work not yet starting on the high-speed rail line, and assurances...

Businesses and MPs at odds over HS2 Sheffield route decision

18.07.17: Local politicians and business leaders in South Yorkshire are firmly at odds over the government’s decision to link HS2 services to Sheffield city centre, as opposed to Meadowhall or the mothballed Sheffield Victoria station. The deci...

Grayling confirms HS2 phase 2 route

17.07.17: The route that HS2 will take from Birmingham and onto Manchester and the north as part of phases 2a and 2b has today been confirmed by DfT. It has been revealed that Phase 2b will run towards the East Midlands Hub, then on to Chesterfield a...

Major players win big as HS2 awards £6.6bn construction contracts

17.07.17: A number of high-profile joint ventures (JVs) have been revealed as the winners of £6.6bn worth of major construction and civil engineering contracts for the first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham. In March last year, the te...

Duo of shortlists revealed for HS2 station design and master development contracts

17.07.17: The names of the designers and engineers who are formally in the running to develop detailed plans for three brand new stations and majorly expand London Euston have today been named by HS2 Ltd. The station design contract shortlist, reveal...

Pilot launched to help Midlands SMEs tender HS2 contracts

11.07.17: Businesses in the Midlands will benefit from a free pilot programme designed to teach them how to capitalise on contracts with HS2. The free initiative, ‘Get On Track’,  is run by the West Midlands Manufacturing Club (WMMC)...

Queen confirms commitment to bring forward HS2 phase 2 bill

21.06.17: The second phase of HS2 received a notable mention in today’s Queen’s Speech during the State Opening of Parliament ceremony. In her speech, the Queen confirmed that a new bill for the project “will be brought forward to d...

Adonis urges supply chain to ‘not be distracted by headlines’ and push on with HS2

15.06.17: The peer leading the National Infrastructure Commission has this week pushed the industry to press on with major projects like HS2 and not be “distracted by headlines”. Speaking at the National Infrastructure Forum, Lord Adonis...

Beth West steps down as HS2 commercial director to join Landsec

13.06.17: Another top-level executive at HS2 has left the company with only months left until work begins delivering the £55bn rail project. In an email sent around to staff at the company, commercial director Beth West announced that she would...

Plans to connect HS2 Interchange to Birmingham Airport being explored

24.05.17: Transport bosses in the Midlands are considering proposals to build a terminal building linking the HS2 station to Birmingham Airport. The HS2 Interchange station will be located approximately 1.2 miles away from the airport and, if plans g...

Camden Council opens consultation on HS2 upgrades at Euston

22.05.17: Camden council has today released a plan for the development around and above Euston station in anticipation of works beginning ahead of HS2 going through the area. In the plans, a set of seven principles are set out as central to developme...

HS2 likely to create polarisation of high-skill jobs in London, LSE finds

19.05.17: Better high-speed rail (HSR) links could lead to highly skilled managerial jobs being “geographically polarised” in London, research conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE) has found. The university looked at the effec...

Industry welcomes manifesto commitments to HS2

18.05.17: Renewed commitment and investment in HS2 have today been announced by prime minister Theresa May as she launched her party’s manifesto. May also stated that if elected to power, the Conservatives would work to increase capacity on tra...

McNaughton hits back at reports of HS2 going over budget

11.05.17: HS2’s technical director has stated that despite recent trouble with procurement and reports of mounting costs, the opening date of the project and its budget have not changed from original estimates. Talking at Railtex 2017, Professo...

HS2 submits plans to convert disused Curzon Street station entrance

05.05.17: HS2 has submitted planning permission to convert the disused Curzon Street station entrance building into a visitor space when the high-speed terminal comes into service. The company plan to turn the Grade-1 listed entrance building, one of...