The latest progress on HS2 highlights the scale, complexity, and capability now being mobilised across the UK’s high-speed rail programme. Preparations are underway to launch the next section of the M6 South viaduct, a critical piece of infrastructure that will carry high-speed trains towards Birmingham. On 11 April, the first Read more…
The High Speed Rail Group is pleased to welcome Balfour Beatty as it’s newest member, further strengthening the organisation’s expertise in infrastructure delivery and engineering. A leading international infrastructure provider, Balfour Beatty brings extensive experience from complex, large-scale projects across the rail and construction sectors. Its membership enhances HSRG’s ability Read more…
HS2 has reached a major milestone with the start of excavation for the final tunnel bore on the 140-mile railway between central London and the West Midlands. This marks a significant step forward in delivering better connected new rail infrastructure for the UK. The last of 11 tunnel boring machines Read more…
A major engineering milestone has been completed on the HS2 programme with the successful launch of a 130-metre steel viaduct across the Grand Union Canal near Ufton in Warwickshire. The 1.5-mile stretch of canal has now reopened to the public seven days ahead of schedule after engineers successfully slid the Read more…
Construction progress at Birmingham Curzon Street railway station has reached an important milestone, with engineers completing the final concrete pile that will support the station’s foundations. In total, 2,011 piles – each between six and 24 metres deep – have been installed to form the foundations for the new seven-platform Read more…
The High Speed Rail Group warmly welcomes the Government’s announcement of its long-term intention to build a new railway line from Birmingham to Manchester, connecting to HS2 which will run from London to Birmingham. This new line is essential if we are to avoid locking in Britain’s biggest bottleneck to Read more…
The boring machine being used to dig HS2’s Birmingham approach tunnels has broken through, marking the completion of major tunnel excavation between London’s Old Oak Common and the West Midlands — a significant step forward for the UK’s most ambitious rail infrastructure project. The 125-metre-long tunnel boring machine (TBM), Elizabeth Read more…
The High Speed Rail Group is delighted to announce the appointment of former Rail Minister and Chair of the Transport Select Committee, Huw Merriman, as our Non-Executive Chair. Huw served as Conservative MP for Bexhill and Battle constituency from 2015 to 2024, and was Minister of State for Rail, HS2 Read more…
One of the lasting misconceptions about HS2 is why it was proposed in the first place. Many still believe it was all about cutting journey times, a bonus, yes, but never the primary goal. Others rightly highlight the aim to better connect the North and South of the UK – Read more…
Fifteen years on from its launch by Government, but still some way from completion, HS2 remains in the public eye. As this new book by first time author Sally Gimson shows, there is enough intrigue and political shenanigans to make Off the Rails – the Inside Story of HS2 a Read more…