HS2 Phase 2b design consultants appointed

1596
A potential HS2 train design. Photo: HS2.
A potential HS2 train design. Photo: HS2.
Listen to this article

HS2 has awarded the engineering and environmental design contracts for Phase 2b of the project.

CH2M, Arup, an AECOM/Capita/INECO joint venture and a Mott MacDonald/WSP joint venture have all been awarded contracts to support the design phase. CH2M has been named as the Phase 2b Development Partner.

Phase 2b will extend the line from Crewe to Manchester and from Birmingham to Leeds. The government published its preferred route for this leg of the network in November last year.

The hybrid bill for this phase of the project is expected to be drafted and presented to Parliament sometime in 2019. If all goes to plan, Phase 2b could be open to passengers by 2033.

Alison Munro, HS2 managing director for Development, said: “These contract mark an important milestone for HS2 – giving us the expert resource needed to progress the second phase of the project and bring high speed rail to Manchester and Leeds by 2033.

“Our new partners bring a wealth of recent experience on some of the world’s most challenging and complex infrastructure projects and I look forward to working with them to ensure that HS2 can benefit from the experience and innovation they have to offer.”

Previous articleChristmas down the drain
Next articleTrenitalia completes acquisition of c2c