Our latest online panel event was arranged jointly with HS2 Ltd to coincide with International Women in Engineering Day – and is part of our ongoing work to increase the representation of women in the sector. The panel was made up of senior women from our membership and female apprentices Read more…
The Costain Skanska joint venture (CSjv) team, working in partnership with HS2, has shared details of its legacy programme that has created vast numbers of local jobs, invested in SMEs and challenged the stereotypical diversity of a construction project. These outcomes known under the term ‘Social Value’ support the long-term wellbeing and resilience of individuals, communities, and society in general.
Costain Skanska’s social value activities have included partnering with Buses for Homeless (B4H), a social enterprise which aims to get homeless people off the street and into full time sustainable employment and accommodation. B4H refurbishes decommissioned London buses into spaces suitable for their guests to live and takes them through an intensive 12-week training programme. The site set up includes separate buses for sleeping; cooking and eating; learning; and wellness and therapy.
Speaking of the initiative, Dan Atkins, Founder of Buses 4 Homeless said: (more…)
HS2 has key role to play in integrating the national economy more closely with London’s and enabling the global gateway the capital presents to be widened throughout the country. The latest report from our Voices series brings together a range of opinions from politics, business and industry – all advocating Read more…
Responding to the National Infrastructure Commission’s (NIC) Rail Needs Assessment, which will inform the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan, we have called on the Government to implement a transformative rolling high speed rail programme across Britain. Investment in high speed rail infrastructure, through HS2 and beyond, will be essential to supporting resilience Read more…
The High Speed Rail Group exisits to promote the economic, social and environmental benefits of a HSR network in the UK, and we continue to make the case for the rail and infrastructure sector as high-quality places to work – by promoting best practice on employment, diversity, sustainability and wellbeing. Read more…
Although the Coronavirus crisis has been dominating the headlines, environmental challenges have not gone away. The warm weather that is lifting spirits is also leading scientists to predict that 2020 will be the hottest year on record. Indeed, after the lockdown had already started, the DfT launched a radical consultation to inform its Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP). Calling for less car use and making public transport the first choice for daily travel, it represents a huge change from decades of previous policy.
It is important for HS2 now to rise to this opportunity. In her most recent report, Sadie Morgan, the chair of HS2’s independent design panel, called for more evidence and communication on how net zero is driving HS2 Ltd’s decision-making, calling for action from board level to those working on site. Professor Morgan also sits on the National Infrastructure Commission, which is undertaking a Rail Needs Assessment for the Midlands and the North. Clearly making the carbon case will be important for securing approval for Phase 2b and beyond.
The big challenge here is (more…)
The High Speed Rail Group welcome today’s announcement that the Government has issued the formal “Notice to Proceed” (NTP) to allow the construction of HS2 to commence. Following the news, an army of women and men will now set about the task of building Britain’s new north-south railway line with Read more…
Hi, my name is Paddy Tranter, and I am a trainee civil engineer at Eiffage Kier (EK) working on the central sections of phase 1 of HS2. I am 39 years old, so have not come straight out of an educational background. In fact, I previously studied in Archaeology and Read more…
High Speed Rail Group welcomed over thirty apprentices to Eiffage Kier in Birmingham for the launch of a new Apprentice Network. Isabel Coman, Director at High Speed Rail Group, said: “ we are delighted to have launched this new Apprentice Network, which will provide apprentices working on the HS2 project with Read more…
Our members recognise the significant opportunities for industry that the development of high speed rail in Britain can provide. The HS2 project comes at a time when investment in the country is vital in the wake of the Brexit vote. High speed rail has the capability to bring efficiency gains Read more…