UK appoints high speed rail Phase 2 consultants
Jan 2013
HS2 Ltd News Release
- Six companies are awarded framework agreements covering engineering and environmental services for Phase 2 of the UK High Speed 2 (HS2) project that will connect Birmingham with separate high speed lines onwards to Manchester and Leeds.
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UK High Speed 2 alignment
- Engineering services will be provided by AECOM, Hyder Consulting, Jacobs Engineering and Mott MacDonald; environmental services will be provided by Mott MacDonald, Temple-RSK JV and Arup.
- HS2 Ltd estimates engineering consultancy contracts to the value of £30 million will be awarded to support the project to the public consultation stage. A further £10 million of environmental services contracts will also be awarded as part of the framework agreement.
- Companies that were invited to tender in August last year, but were not selected, include Atkins, Halcrow, Jacobs and the WSP-Parsons Brinckerhoff JV
- The framework agreements will give HS2 Ltd, a wholly owned company of the UK Department of Transport, access to the professional services it needs to support the scheme through the public consultation stage.
- In addition to Phase 2 design refinements and preparation of materials for the public consultation process, the agreement also specifies the completion of a feasibility study for the further extension of the high speed network to Scotland and the far north of England.
- A preferred route has already been announced for the £16.3 billion first phase of what will eventually be a 250km/h 540km-long Y-shaped line connecting London with Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham. Public consultation for Phase 1 (London-Birmingham) is complete, with the same process due to begin for Phase 2 in early 2014 once a preferred alignment for that stretch of rail line is announced.
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HS2 features dedicated track for 250 miles/hour trains
- The UK Government is expected to publish more precise details about the £15.7 billion Phase 2 - which also includes a short but vital connection to London Heathrow Airport - in the next few weeks.
- The construction timetable envisages the London-Birmingham HS2 Phase 1 opening for service in 2026, with Phase 2 to Manchester and Leeds complete by 2033.
- A number of concessions - including extra lengths of tunnels - were made to the original alignment for Phase 1 following concerns about the environmental impact an at-grade route might have in some rural areas of outstanding natural beauty.
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Extra tunnels seal UK high speed rail approval - TunnelTalk, January 2012
CH2M-Hill selected as HS2 Phase 1 development partner - TunnelTalk, January 2012
Seven shortlisted for HS2 Phase 1 design - TunnelTalk, February 2012
UK awards HS2 Phase 1 rail design contracts - TunnelTalk, April 2012
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