HS2 appoints Phase Two contract winners

Plans to bring HS2 to Manchester and Leeds took a step forward today with the confirmation that contracts will be awarded to CH2M, Arup, an AECOM / Capita / INECO joint venture and a Mott MacDonald / WSP joint venture to help progress the design.

HS2 says the appointments are a major milestone for the high speed rail project and they follow an 11-month competitive process, during which seven multinational bidders were invited to tender for four packages of work.

CH2M will be become Phase Two B Development Partner and work together with teams from Arup, AECOM / Capita / INECO and Mott MacDonald / WSP.

Together, they will provide the expert engineering and environmental support needed to take forward the development of the route north of Crewe to Manchester and from the West Midlands to Yorkshire. A hybrid bill - essentially the planning application for this part of the route - is expected to be presented to Parliament in 2019.

The government gave the go ahead for the sections of the route, between Crewe and Manchester, and Birmingham and Leeds, via Sheffield and the East Midlands, subject to some specific route refinements which are under consultation, in November last year. The dedicated high speed lines are planned to open in 2033, providing extra capacity between the UK’s largest cities, improving connectivity and reducing journey times.

HS2 managing director, development, Alison Munro said: “These contracts mark an important milestone for HS2, giving us the expert resource needed to progress the second phase of the project and bring high speed rail to Manchester and Leeds by 2033. Our new partners bring a wealth of recent experience on some of the world’s most challenging and complex infrastructure projects and I look forward to working with them to ensure that HS2 can benefit from the experience and innovation they have to offer.”

The following companies will be appointed:

• Phase Two B Development Partner: CH2M
• Phase Two B Civils Design and Environmental Services:
• Lot 1 – CDES - Mott MacDonald / WSP joint venture
• Lot 2 – CDES - AECOM / Capita / INECO joint venture
• Lot 3 – CDES and Environmental Overview Consultant (EOC) – Arup

Contracts are expected to be signed after the 20 February 2017 with staff joining the HS2 team soon after.