HS2

Yes, HS2 is on track

21.09.17: Jim Steer, director of Greengauge 21, reflects on what have been a busy few months for HS2 and the progress made to date. In its review of post-general election investment priorities, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) called for...

Griffiths takes over reins as MD of HS2 phase 2

19.09.17: Paul Griffiths has taken over as managing director of phase 2 at HS2 following the departure of Alison Munro, it has today been revealed. Munro left the company at the end of August, with former phase 2b development director Griffiths the f...

WMCA confirms £27.5m funding for new HS2 Curzon tram stop

19.09.17: A £27.5m funding package has been granted by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to support the construction of a new Midland Metro tram stop at the proposed HS2 Curzon station. Transport for West Midlands (TfWM) will also ben...

Flexible skills for a changing industry

18.09.17: Beth Curtis, head of partnerships and communications at the National College for High Speed Rail (NCHSR), tells RTM’s Luana Salles that the new training centres will focus on developing a workforce capable of adapting to ever-changing indu...

High-speed synergies for the north

11.09.17: Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) is now being increasingly seen as the third phase of the UK’s high-speed rail programme. RTM’s Luana Salles reports on what this means for the region and Transport for the North (TfN). Few can have...

Maynard: HS2 will not deliver full potential unless east-west links improved

07.09.17: Rail minister Paul Maynard has reiterated that HS2’s full potential will not be fully delivered unless east-west rail links are properly improved as well, despite recent claims that plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail (NRP), or HS3, have go...

From enmity to eminence: The inevitable journey of infrastructure

07.09.17: Sir David Higgins, chairman of HS2 Ltd, discusses the enduring importance of infrastructure – putting HS2 in context of the Grade 1 listed Humber Bridge, comparing and contrasting how the bridge was first seen, and how essential it is now....

Time for HS2 phase 1 civil contractor designs should be ‘revisited’

05.09.17: The time allowed for developing civil engineering contractor designs should be “revisited” for HS2 phase 1, according to a recommendation by the project’s Independent Design panel. In her latest report, Professor Sadie Mor...

Munro retires as HS2 phase 2 boss

30.08.17: The governance shake-up at HS2 Ltd shows no signs of slowing down as it has been revealed that managing director for the project’s phase 2, Alison Munro, has now retired from her role. Munro had been with the company since the beginni...

HS2 on the lookout for Euston station and Old Oak Common builders

29.08.17: HS2 Ltd has launched its search for the “best the construction industry has to offer” in order to help expand Euston station and build a brand new Old Oak Common transport hub designed to serve the high-speed line from 2026. The...

Major HS2 construction contracts signed

02.08.17: HS2 has taken another step forward this week as contracts to deliver the tunnels, bridges and earthworks for phase 1 were officially signed. The signing of the contracts took place at the company’s head office in Birmingham, as execut...

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...