COMPANY NEWS
Design partnership for UK High-Speed 2Aug 2011
Capita Symonds News Release
Spanish and UK firms team up to bid for High-Speed 2 project design
UK consulting engineer Capita Symonds has formed a partnership with Spanish engineer Ineco to bid for design and consultancy contracts on the UK’s proposed High-Speed 2 (HS2) rail project.
The move follows the recent announcement by Philip Hammond, the UK Secretary of State for Transport, signalling the start of the procurement process for a development partner and for external contractors to assist in the engineering and environmental work for a £32 billion scheme comprising a high speed rail line between London, Birmingham and the north of England.
Ineco has been responsible for the development of 6,000km of high-speed rail line in Spain including the Madrid-Seville and the Madrid-Barcelona lines. The company is also developing high-speed rail lines across other parts of Europe as well as in Asia and South America.
Capita Symonds designed the Royal Oak and Woolwich and Plumstead portals on London's Crossrail scheme. The company has also worked on a number of other major transport infrastructure projects including the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system in Delhi and the Øresund Tunnel between Denmark and Sweden.
Tim Healey, Director of Civil Engineering at Capita Symonds, said: "I am delighted that we are able to build on our 30 years of experience in the rail industry and most recently our successful design delivery for London's Crossrail schemes. Our links with Ineco will further develop our offer to provide High-Speed 2 with a team that has successfully delivered the most extensive high-speed rail network in Europe at the lowest cost per route kilometre anywhere in the world."
Jose Anguita, International Director of Ineco, said: "I am very pleased to have reached this agreement with Capita Symonds. We look forward to sharing with the UK our experience of delivering high performing high-speed rail projects throughout Spain."
High-Speed 2 commitment
In 2009, the former Labour Government of the UK announced the proposal for a second high-speed rail line linking London, north to Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Glasgow and Edinburgh. In a series of cuts to public spending in October 2010, the current Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition Government of David Cameron stayed committed to rail projects at the expense of road developments, and confirmed a spend of £750 million on high-speed rail up to 2014.
Following the announcement, three contracts were awarded to begin the planning and design process. A consortium of Mott MacDonald, Scott Wilson and Grimshaw was awarded design of the section from Birmingham to Manchester, while Arup will work on the Birmingham to Leeds leg. Arup had already been appointed for feasibility studies for the London to Birmingham line and environmental consultant Temple Group is awarded the contract for environmental assessment of the Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds legs. Early estimates envisage more than 55km of underground alignment on the routes.
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