High Speed 2 news – Page 8
-
Rail Business UKHS2 Ltd calls tenders for track contracts
UK: HS2 Ltd has begun the process of appointing contractors to design and build 280 km of slab track between London, Birmingham and Crewe. Four separate track packages will be awarded: Phase 1 Lot 1 Urban London and Birmingham, estimated at £434m; Phase 1 Lot 2 ...
-
Rail Business UK‘Confident and contemporary’ Curzon Street HS2 station approved
Curzon Street station UK: Birmingham City Council granted planning permission for the Curzon Street High Speed 2 station on April 23. Invitations to tender for the construction contract are to be issued this summer. The council’s report said the design developed ...
-
Rail Business UKHigh Speed 2 Notice to Proceed issued
UK: On April 15 the Department for Transport gave project promoter HS2 Ltd approval to issue its four main works civils contractors with Notice to Proceed with full detailed design and construction of the 225 km London – West Midlands Phase 1 of the high speed network. ...
-
Rail Business UKRail sector responds to High Speed 2 approval
UK: The rail industry has welcomed Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s February 11 announcement that the first phase of High Speed 2 is to continue. Rail industry Paul Plummer, Chief Executive of the Rail Delivery Group, said ‘these are crucial decisions that will turbo-charge rail’s role in ...
-
Rail Business UKHS2 to proceed as government adopts High Speed North vision
UK: Construction of the first phase of High Speed 2 is to continue, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons on February 11. In recommitting to the national high speed rail programme, Johnson also said the government intended to rename the sections of HS2 serving ...
-
Rail Business UKNational Audit Office makes HS2 recommendations
UK: The High Speed 2 programme is over budget and behind schedule because the Department for Transport, HS2 Ltd and government underestimated the complexity and risks, according to the National Audit Office’s High Speed Two: A Progress Update report published on January 24. NAO said the ‘ambitious’ ...
-
Rail Business UKStakeholders respond to Lord Berkeley’s High Speed 2 dissenting report
UK: Lord Tony Berkeley published a dissenting report into the High Speed 2 project on January 5, calling it ‘the wrong and expensive solution’ to providing better north–south inter-city services and improving services in the Midlands and North of England. He was Deputy Chair of the review ...
-
Rail Business UKAvanti West Coast sets out plans for West Coast franchise
UK: Avanti West Coast was officially unveiled as the brand name for the new West Coast Partnership franchise on November 27. Joint venture partners FirstGroup and Italian national operator Trenitalia explained that ‘Avanti is Italian for “Forward!” and reflects a mission to deliver an innovative railway service ...
-
Rail Business UKTalgo UK established and Longannet agreement signed
UK: Spanish rolling stock manufacturer Talgo has appointed its UK & Ireland representative Jon Veitch as Managing Director of Talgo UK, and has signed a framework agreement with Scottish Enterprise and Transport Scotland for the establishment of a manufacturing plant at Longannet in Fife should it win ...
-
Rail Business UKHS2 streamlines civils subcontracting process
UK: The four High Speed 2 main works civils contractors have collaborated to introduce a standardised pre-qualification system for subcontractors which is designed to streamline the process, reduce costs and boost productivity. Under the Common Assessment Standard, bidders for work with Align, BBV, EK and SCS Railways ...
-
Rail Business UKTransport for the North responds to HS2 speculation
UK: Rumours that the HS2 programme may be scaled back in the north of England have brought a strong response from Transport for the North. Newspaper reports have suggested that the government-appointed review panel being chaired by former HS2 Chairman Douglas Oakervee will propose the cancellation of ...
-
Rail Business UKOld Oak Common HS2 station contract awarded
Old Oak Common is one of two London stations on High Speed 2. UK: A joint venture of Balfour Beatty, Vinci and Systra has been selected to manage the construction and delivery of the High Speed 2 station at Old Oak Common in northwest London. With six ...
-
Rail Business UKHS2 benefits ‘substantially undervalued’ amid rising costs
UK: The Chairman of High Speed 2 Ltd Allan Cook believes that ‘the benefits of the current scheme are substantially undervalued’, according to a ‘stocktake report’ presented to the House of Commons by Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on September 3. Updating Parliament on progress ...
-
Rail Business UKWest Coast Partnership contract signed
UK: The West Coast Partnership contract was formally signed by the Department for Transport and First Trenitalia West Coast Rail Ltd on August 28. The 70:30 joint venture of transport group FirstGroup plc and the Trenitalia UK Ltd subsidiary of Italy’s national railway holding group FS had ...
-
Rail Business UKReview to consider whether and how to proceed with High Speed 2
UK: The terms of reference and timeline for an independently-led government review of whether and how to proceed with the High Speed 2 project were published by Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on August 21. The ‘independent, thorough and objective’ review is to be chaired by Douglas ...
-
Rail Business UKSheffield City Region rail vision launched
UK: An ‘ambitious’ Integrated Rail Plan for the Sheffield City Region was launched by Mayor Dan Jarvis on July 18. The plan was produced by the region’s local authorities supported by organisations including Transport for the North. The proposals include a Barnsley Dearne Valley station in Goldthorpe on the ...
-
Rail Business UKMidlands Hub plan to boost east-west connectivity
UK: The Midlands Connect consortium of local authorities and regional transport bodies has unveiled proposals for a £2bn package of targeted improvements to boost rail services in the East and West Midlands. The group is seeking £25m in government funding to develop the business case for its Midlands Rail ...
-
Rail Business UKHigh Speed 2 rolling stock bids submitted
UK: The deadline to submit bids for the estimated £2·75bn contract to design, manufacture and maintain the High Speed 2 train fleet passed at midday on June 5. Project promoter HS2 Ltd will now evaluate the five bids received and expects to announce the winner in early 2020, with entry ...
-
Rail Business UKPolicymakers back HS2 as contractors challenge costs
UK: Representatives of the High Speed Rail Industry Leaders group joined national and regional politicians in Birmingham on February 25 to unveil a giant jigsaw of Britain, writes Tony Miles. This was intended to highlight the regional connectivity benefits of High Speed 2, with the ‘missing piece’ in the jigsaw, ...
-
NewsHS2 announces London station construction partners
UK: The preferred bidders for the Construction Partner contracts to build High Speed 2’s two London stations were announced by project promoter HS2 Ltd on February 6. A joint venture of Mace and Dragados has been selected to undertake the rebuilding of the London Euston terminus, while the Old ...