HS2 is underway, with more than £6billion of contracts being won by several well known companies, including Balfour Beatty, Skanska and Costain.
The contractors will work on the first stage of HS2, the new high speed rail line between London and Birmingham. The final route of the Manchester and Leeds section will be revealed later today by The Secretary of Stage for Transport, Chris Grayling.
VINCI Construction UK, Sir Robert McAlpine, Carillion and Kier Infrastructure are amongst those who have won contracts. They will begin the development by designing and constructing bridges, tunnels, viaducts and embankments for the first phase of the new rail line.
There will be two phases to the project, with the second stage commencing in 2019 and the value of the two stages combined reaching £6.6bn in contracts. The construction will boost UK employment, supporting around 16,000 jobs across the country and generating an estimated 7000 contract opportunities.
New route to be announced today
Later today the transport secretary will announce the final Phase 2b route, from Crewe to Manchester and Birmingham to the East Midlands and Leeds. He comments on the positive impact the new lines will have on the UK, making the country more prosperous;
“HS2 will deliver vital links between some of our country’s biggest cities, helping to drive economic growth and productivity in the north and midlands. As well as providing desperately needed new seats and better connecting our major cities, HS2 will help rebalance our economy.”
The route was planned in February and will introduce new stations at various places on the line. Grayling commented that he will update the House on other developments along the Phase Two route and Phase 2b which covers the route from Crewe to Manchester and then West Midlands to Leeds.
The final phase of the HS2 route to connect with the north west has yet to be finalised. Currently, all trains are required to stop at Stockport, including all West Coast mainline trains from London to the north. A final decision on the HS2 route could be detrimental to Stockport if a preferred route bypasses Stockport.