Mace/Dragados JV sign £1.5bn London Euston HS2 construction contract

The curtain has come down on an exhaustive 19-month procurement process as it is announced that a lucrative contract to deliver the landmark London Euston HS2 station has been signed by both HS2 Ltd and the successful Mace/Dragados JV bid.

Mace/Dragados will now join HS2’s existing early works contractor, a Costain/Skanska joint venture (CSjv), who already have more than a thousand people at work across the capital carrying out work to prepare for the start of construction.

The Mace/Dragados joint venture will act as a construction partner, working with HS2 and the station designers, to coordinate the building of the new station, including platforms, concourse and links to London Underground and other rail services.

The organisation has once again hailed the track record of Mace and Dragados in delivering complex and demanding infrastructure projects including Battersea Power Station (phase 2), Mumbai International Airport Terminal Two and work on delivering the Spanish high speed rail network, including the major new Madrid Atocha and Barcelona Sants stations.

Jason Millett, COO for consultancy at Mace, and speaking on behalf of the Mace/Dragados joint venture, said the signing marks the start of a close partnership that will last over a decade.

"The successful delivery of the new Euston Station for HS2 is not only important for residents of Camden and London, but it will improve capacity, reliability and journey times for millions of people travelling from the Midlands and the North of England every year,” he added. “Combining Mace’s unbeatable knowledge of major infrastructure project delivery in the UK with Dragados’s world-class high speed rail expertise we are assembling one of the highest calibre teams in the country to deliver this bold and ambitious vision for Euston.”

New aerial photos show how demolitions are already well underway at Euston, with the former carriage sheds north of the station and site of the tunnel portals, cleared last year. The first tower cranes arrived in January to assist with the demolition of the two 1970s towers at the front of the station, while the demolition of the disused former National Temperance Hospital and IBIS hotel is now almost complete.

Once complete, HS2 will more than double capacity at Euston to deal with increasing passenger demand while freeing up space on the west coast mainline for more freight and commuter services to places like Watford and Milton Keynes.

Commenting on the award, HS2 chief executive Mark Thurston, said: “Mace and Dragados have a strong track record of delivering some of the world’s most challenging and exciting infrastructure projects and we’re delighted that they’re joining the HS2 team as our Construction Partner for Euston. Together, we will deliver a new landmark station that will be the London gateway to HS2, transforming the way we travel and setting new standards for design, construction and operation.”

A construction contract for HS2’s Old Oak Common station in the west of London though has not been signed despite it being announced last month that a Balfour Beatty and Vinci consortium was the successful bid.

It’s believed that rival losing bidder Bechtel has launched a legal challenge over the award after becoming unhappy with the scoring system.