HS2

HS2 workers win £1m in back pay after ‘underpayment scandal’

02.04.19: A HS2 contractor has agreed to back pay over £1m to hundreds of its construction workers after Unite claimed they were being “systematically denied” their entitled holiday and agreed overtime pay. Last week it was reported...

Funding sign-off for first half of HS2 construction delayed by ministers

01.04.19: Ministers have delayed signing off on the first half of funding for HS2 over concerns about the flagship rail project’s spiralling costs. A formal ‘notice to proceed’ on the major construction works for the first phase of...

‘Absolutely scandalous’: union claims HS2 workers denied holiday and overtime pay

29.03.19: Hundreds of staff working on the London Euston station for HS2 are being “systematically denied” their entitled holiday and agreed overtime pay, according to Unite union. Unite said it had received multiple payslips from employe...

Carillion-bound boss appointed to lead Kier

20.03.19: Kier has appointed Andrew Davies as its new chief executive, two months after the building contractor ousted Hayden Mursell on the back of debt issues. Davies had been appointed to lead the British outsourcing giant Carillion, but it became...

Plans revealed for major redevelopment of Birmingham Moor Street station

19.03.19: Birmingham Moor Street station it set to undergo a major transformation to prepare it for HS2 services at Curzon Street and growing passenger demand as new designs are unveiled. Moor Street could be expanded to double its current size and s...

HS2: Cutting through Cumbria

12.03.19: Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is arguing for HS2 services from London to call at Carlisle, Oxenholme and Penrith. The chamber’s policy lead, Julian Whittle, explains why. It came as a huge shock to businesses in Cumbria to learn that HS...

Government overturns council’s challenge against ecological work around HS2 Colne Valley Viaduct

06.03.19: The government has overruled a council’s decision to reject HS2’s application to build one of its ecological mitigation sites around the Colne Valley Viaduct. Chris Grayling and James Brokenshire, in a letter to Hillingdon Counc...

Engineering firm sues HS2 over £1bn Old Oak Common construction contract

04.03.19: Engineer giant Bechtel has launched a legal challenge against HS2 after losing a £1bn contract to build the Old Oak Common Station, claiming the tender process was botched. The American firm has lodged a High Court claim against the &...

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...