HS2

A planning decision to block HS2 from upgrading a crucial farm lane in Wendover could push up its costs by “tens of millions” of pounds, it has said. The response came as Buckinghamshire Council refused planning permission for an underground chamber and ditch, as part of HS2’s Wendover Green Tunnel…

Technology is changing. And so is Construction News. Our editorial team has been using artificial intelligence (AI) behind the scenes for some time now to summarise long reports and data as part of our research process, as well as produce some illustrations. But we have not used it to produce…

Balfour Beatty boss Leo Quinn has pushed back against suggestions by HS2 bosses that construction contracts on the London to Birmingham rail scheme could be renegotiated. In December, Construction News reported comments made to MPs by HS2 chief financial officer Alan Foster, saying that contractors accepted that the legal agreements…

Tom Pashby An updated business case for the revised programme of works for High Speed 2 (HS2) will not be published until 2026 – more than a year later than originally planned. The delay came to light in a letter dated 27 February from Department for Transport (DfT) permanent secretary…

A public spending watchdog has said HS2’s construction contracts are “extremely poor value for money” and is “unconvinced” they can be renegotiated to achieve significant savings. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) described HS2 as a “cycle of repeated failure” and “a casebook example of how not to run a major…

Civils firm Colas Rail has scooped up a £206.9m job to develop HS2’s overhead wiring system. The contractor will now design, manufacture, install and test HS2's overhead catenary system (OCS), for 469km worth of track. That will include overhead wiring to supply electric power for 250 bridges, 58 viaducts, 47…

The troubled process of creating a mass transit system to transport High Speed 2 (HS2) passengers to other rail interchanges has taken a step forward with the shortlisting of two contractors. Two European cable car specialists will now slug it out for £269m of work on the project. French firm…

The New Hospital Programme has been rated as unachievable in the latest official audit of UK infrastructure. In its annual review for the financial year 2023-24, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) gave a red rating to the £20bn plan to build 40 new hospitals by 2030. This means that…

Bringing HS2 into the Department for Transport (DfT) could increase, rather than reduce problems with the project, according to the head of the government's infrastructure advisory body. In September last year, the Financial Times reported that a government review would consider the possibility of making the DfT directly responsible for…

HS2 has submitted design changes for its Curzon Street station to Birmingham City Council. Outline planning permission for the terminus was granted in 2020, with a Mace-Dragados joint venture being awarded the £570m job the following year and early works starting in 2024. Application papers recently submitted to the local authority…