HS2

HS2 is to carry out what it claims will be the first ‘box slide’ bridge installation of its kind over a UK motorway. It plans to slide a 10,000-tonne bridge into position over the M42 near Junction 9 in Warwickshire in late 2022. The bridge was originally designed as a…

Leeds Council has demanded an urgent review of the development protection that remains in place along the former HS2 eastern leg route, which was scrapped last week. The local authority is understood to want the opportunity to develop land in the Yorkshire city's centre and beyond, which was safeguarded for…

Laing O’Rourke's concrete-specialist subsidiary, Expanded, has begun work on the box for HS2’s Old Oak Common station in London (pictured). The firm is delivering the 850 metre-long concrete station box, which will form the frame and base for the £1.6bn station. It has been appointed by BBVS, the joint venture…

After repeated delays the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) was finally published yesterday. The 164-page document sets out the plan for train services in the Midlands and the North, and how they will connect with London and, to a lesser extent, Scotland. It confirmed the long-rumoured cancellation of the eastern leg…

Industry figures have criticised the government’s inconsistency after it announced the cancellation of HS2’s eastern leg. Transport secretary Grant Shapps confirmed this morning that the leg of the high-speed rail project that was set to run from Birmingham to Leeds would not go ahead, with some smaller rail schemes prioritised…

The eastern leg of HS2 phase 2b between Birmingham and Leeds has been scrapped by the government as part of its Integrated Rail Plan (IRP) for the Midlands and the North. The cost-cutting on HS2, which the government estimates will save around £18bn, was unveiled this morning by transport secretary…

Concerns have been raised about the ongoing lack of an HS2 chair, nine months after the previous post-holder announced he was standing down. HS2 has not had a chair since Allan Cook left in August. He gave the government six months’ notice of his departure in February. The Department for…

The plan for a HS2 eastern leg between Birmingham and Leeds could be replaced by smaller schemes in the long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan, according to reports. The Sunday Times (£) reported that as well as the HS2 leg, plans for an east-west line across the Pennines between Manchester and Leeds,…

HS2 has defended its work with the UK steel market after a trade body criticised its “lack of proper engagement”. The British Association of Reinforcement (BAR) has claimed that two more French fabricators are in talks that could lead to fresh contracts to supply the project. This comes after Paris-based…

Independent thinktank the Institute for Government (IfG) has published a paper outlining lessons that policymakers could learn from HS2. In a statement, the organisation said its analysis aimed to set out “how government can ensure future infrastructure spending is money well spent – and where ministers can learn from the…