UK High Speed 2 development partner selected
Jan 2012
HS2 Ltd News Release
- CH2M Hill is appointed as development partner for the UK's High Speed-2 rail project. In a deal worth £70 million, infrastructure consultancy CH2M Hill will be responsible for managing the yet-to-be-appointed companies that will carry out the detailed design and environmental assessments for the first phase of the 140-mile £32 billion scheme.
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UK High Speed-2 alignment
- The company, which last year acquired UK-based design consultancy Halcrow in a deal worth £500 million, beat off challenges from Turner & Townsend, Mace and Parsons Brinckerhoff to win the contract.
- The UK Government gave the London-Birmingham stretch of the project the go-ahead earlier this month, and now needs to secure the passage of a bill through Parliament before work can begin procuring construction work, which includes 22.5 miles of tunnel alignment. This approval is timetabled for October next year with construction scheduled to start in 2017, for a completion date of 2026.
- CH2M Hill's appointment by HS2 Ltd as the project's development partner now means that work can begin assessing submissions for the estimated £160-200 million civil engineering and structural design services contract. Prequalifiers for that contract have already submitted their proposals.
- Alison Munro, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, the company set up by the UK Government to deliver the project, said: "CH2M Hill will bring their experience of working on HS1 and Crossrail, two major UK infrastructure projects that have direct relevance to our work."
- She added that Halcrow's involvement in Crossrail and HS1, coupled with parent company CH2M Hill's involvement in delivering construction for the 2012 London Olympic Games and the Thames Tideway, had been crucial factors in awarding the contract.
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HS2 features dedicated track for 250 miles/hour trains
- A decision on the proposed route, designs for which were prepared by Arup, had been expected in December last year but was delayed while ministers made a last minute change and added eight miles of extra tunnelling in a bid to pacify environmental concerns.
- The UK Government is currently carrying out design studies for Phase 2 of the project, which would see the 250 miles/hour line split at Birmingham and carry on northwards in two separate stretches to Manchester and Leeds.
- Public consultation on Phase 2 is expected to start in 2014 with construction set for completion by 2033.
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Extra tunnels seal UK high speed rail - TunnelTalk, January 2012
UK reconsiders High Speed-2 tunnel alignment - TunnelTalk, December 2011
Design partnership for UK High Speed-2 - TunnelTalk, August 2011
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