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Thursday, March 28, 2024

HS2 contractors named

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The construction of Britain’s new High Speed Line – HS2 Phase One between London and Birmingham – moved one step closer today as the shortlists for the main construction contracts were announced.

The work has been divided into seven packages. The nine selected organisations will be allowed to tender for a maximum of four packages, and will be awarded no more than two.

Firms that deliver the best results in terms of value and efficiency will be eligible to bid for work on an additional 40 miles between Birmingham and Crewe, due to open in 2027.

Official invitations to tender will go out in the next couple of months, but no contracts will be awarded until after the project has gained Royal Assent, which is planned to be in December 2016. Work is expected to start in 2018.

However, three packages of enabling works will be awarded over this summer. These cover preparation of the sites for the start of construction and carrying out essential pre-construction activity such as utilities diversions and archaeological surveys. Seven organisations have been invited to tender, and each can win only one, so there will be three winners and four losers.

In addition, HS2 has already announced its engineering delivery partner for Phase One as a team made up of CH2M, Atkins and SENER. This team will provide expert engineering and construction management support as well as assist with preparation for the procurement of the main civils contracts.

Details of additional work packages, covering stations and railway systems, will be issued over the course of the next year.

The Parliamentary process to gain approval for the construction of the new line also takes its next step today as the HS2 Bill returns to the Commons for the latest vote before moving on to the Lords.

 

Enabling Works

The joint ventures bidding for the two packages of work, enabling works and main civil engineering, are similar but vary in their makeup.

Those invited to tender for the three enabling works contracts, valued at a total of £900 million split approximately £300 million each, are:

  • Align JV – Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, Morrison Utility Services, VolkerFitzpatrick;
  • BBV JV – Balfour Beatty Group, Vinci Construction Grands Projets, Vinci Construction UK, Vinci Construction Terrassement;
  • CEK JV – Carrillion Construction, Eiffage Travaux Publics, Kier Infrastructure and Overseas;
  • Costain Skanska JV – Costain, Skanska Construction;
  • LM – Laing O’Rourke, J Murphy & Sons;
  • Momentum Infrastructure – Galliford Try Infrastructure, Hochtief Infrastructure, Dragados;
  • Morgan Sindall / BAM / Ferrovial JV – Morgan Sindall, BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial Agroman (UK).

 

Main civil engineering contracts on offer

The civil engineering element of HS2 has been split up into seven geographical areas and one contractor will be appointed to deliver each one. The total value of the work is estimated to be between £7.1 and £11.8 billion.

Lot S1 – ‘Euston Tunnels and Approaches’ (£600m – £900m);

Lot S2 – ‘Northolt Tunnels’ (£850m – £1.4bn);

Lot C1 – ‘Chiltern Tunnels and Colne Valley Viaduct’ (£800m – £1.3bn);

Lot C2 – ‘North Portal Chiltern Tunnels to Brackley’ (£800m – £1.3bn);

Lot C3 – ‘Brackley to Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel South Portal’ (£600m – £900m);

Lot N1 – ‘Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel to Delta Junction / Birmingham Spur’ (£900m – £1.5bn);

Lot N2 – ‘Delta Junction to West Coast Main Line Tie-in’ (£800m – £1.3bn).

 

Shortlisted for the main civil engineering contracts

Bids will be invited from the following organisations for civil engineering contracts covering the 140 miles from London to Birmingham. Contracts will be signed in 2017 with the start of work on site one year later.

  • Align JV – Bouygues Travaux Publics, VolkerFitzpatrick, Sir Robert McAlpine – bidding for lots S2, C1, C2, C3;
  • ASL – Acciona Infrastructuras, John Sisk & Son, Lagan Construction Group – bidding for lot C3;
  • Balfour Beatty Vinci BeMo (BBV) – Balfour Beatty Group, Vinci Construction Grands Projets, Vinci Construction UK, VINCI Construction Terrassement, BeMo Tunnelling – bidding for lots C1, C2, N1, N2;
  • Catalyst – Bechtel – bidding for lot C3;
  • Carillion-Eiffage-Kier (CEK) JV – Carillion Construction, Eiffage Genie Civil, Kier Infrastructure and Overseas – bidding for lots S1, S2, C2, C3;
  • Fusion – Morgan Sindall, BAM Nuttall, Ferrovial Agroman (UK) – bidding for lots S1, S2, N1, N2;
  • LFM – Laing O’Rourke, FCC Construccion, J Murphy and Sons – bidding for lots C1, N1, N2;
  • Momentum Infrastructure – Dragados, Hochtief Infrastructure, Galliford Try Infrastructure – bidding for lots S1, C2, C3, N2;
  • SCS – Skanska Construction (UK), Costain, Strabag – bidding for lots S1, S2, C1, N1.

 

20 COMMENTS

  1. Wow! Not long before I can get from Birmingham to London and save 10 minutes. That will make a huge difference to the economy!

    • When HS1 is finished Rude, Passengers will be able to make this journey in 45 minutes. It currently takes 1hour and 10 minutes to get to Birmingham.

          • But that was the last chance we had to do any significant modernisation work on the route. It’s full now. Major civil works would utterly destroy the timetable. Take note of how the GW modernisation has fallen behind schedule.

          • I vist the tracks regularly all over the UK. Neither the ECML or the WCML are ‘Full’ Nowhere near it
            What I do see is Network Rail struggling to maintain the railway because of manpowrr cutbacks due to the promise of HS2 if they make billions of cutbacks.

          • HS2 is on a totally different budget. If it doesn’t go ahead, the money doesn’t simply get diverted into other government departments.

            What are you expecting to see? Trains flashing past you every 20 seconds?

        • It’s not just about speed and saving 25 minutes. HS2 will release much needed capacity on the southern section of the WCML.

          • Ah yes the create jobs myth. The companies that will do the work already have staff and any they take on will be temporary

          • And it will all be foreign company’s doing the work taking most of the money abroad .which will suite a lot of the members of parliament who will no doubt have shared in these company’s.just something else that’s being sold off .

      • Thats the nature of these kinds of projects. The Govt is looking to boost Railroads up and down the Country because its kinder on the environment. No toxic fumes or greenhouse gases going into the Atmosphere. Everyone’s a winner. If you take the TGV High speed Rail network in France compared to this country, the French rail network appears to be more developed. Paris to Marseilles in about 2.5 hours. Same journey made in England would takea bout 5 or 6 hours long.

        • Kinder on the environment ??? Have you seen the ctap that most of the high speed train kick out of tjeir exhausts ?
          And rail travel is still, and always will be extortionate to buy rail tickets

          • Electric trains don’t have exhausts. If you spend so much time near the railways, surely you should know that.

            And even then, are you suggesting that the equivalent number of cars that a well-loaded train removes from the road, would be better for the environment?

          • You’re right, I would know that but most of the trains are still diesel. But you would gave known that wouldn’t you

  2. This is great for contract workers like me compared to people looking for permanent employment …

    Just want Hinkley Point to kick off too !

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