The publication of Sir Peter Hendy’s Union Connectivity Review is recognition of the incredibly important role of rail – and of high speed rail – in providing much needed connectivity benefits across the UK. High Speed Rail Group welcome the planned creation of UKNET – a strategic approach to development Read more…
In preparation for the construction of the northern section of HS2’s Phase One route between London and the West Midlands, main works civils contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) have successfully demolished a disused bridge in Saltley near Birmingham. The Heartlands Parkway bridge originally connected the A47 with a nearby industrial Read more…
This is a submission from the HSRG to the consultation on Transport for the North’s (TfN) Decarbonisation Strategy. The submission highlights the role of high speed rail and HS2 in decarbonising the transport system including across the TfN area and how HS2 should be harnessed to achieve modal shift – Read more…
A new railhead near the village of Calvert has been opened which will help HS2 continue to deliver construction material by rail to its biggest Buckinghamshire site without putting extra lorries on local roads. The new railhead – the second to be built at Calvert – will allow HS2 to Read more…
Work has now begun to excavate the first of five shafts that will provide ventilation and emergency access to HS2’s ten-mile long tunnels under the Chiltern Hills. The structure was designed by HS2 Ltd’s main works contractor Align JV, made up of Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick Read more…
We spoke to Samuel McCabe, a Mechanical Design and Engineering Apprentice working in Wolverhampton for Alstom: Can you describe your role in a few words? I carry out design for refurbishment and modernisation of trams and trains. What were you doing prior to this? Prior to my apprenticeship I attended Read more…
As part of its innovation programme, HS2 Ltd is working with design and technology SME, CCD Design & Ergonomics and station designer WSP to develop efficient and stress-free ‘wayfinding’ for the quarter of a million people who will use the new 14-platform super-hub in North West London each day. The Read more…
The process to procure the construction contractor to build the HS2 Interchange Station has started with bidders asked to put themselves forward for the £370m contract. Interchange Station will be one of the best connected stations on the high-speed network in the Midlands, sitting as an integral part of the growth Read more…
A new vacuum excavation technique for piling has been unveiled which could have massive benefits for the wider construction industry in the UK and abroad. Developed by specialist contractors working on HS2, the pioneering new approach is better for the environment, safer for workers and reduces construction noise, to the Read more…
HS2 Ltd has launched the 2,000 tonne tunnel boring machine (TBM) ‘Florence’ from it’s South Portal site next to the M25 in Hertfordshire, the first of 10 giant tunnelling machines that will dig 64 miles of tunnels between London and the West Midlands. Named after nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale – Read more…