Construction contract for HS2 Interchange Station launched

The process to procure the construction contractor to build the HS2 Interchange Station has started with bidders asked to put themselves forward for the £370m contract. Interchange Station will be one of the best connected stations on the high-speed network in the Midlands, sitting as an integral part of the growth plans around the site being led by the Urban Growth Company that will support 30,000 jobs, up to 3,000 new homes and 70,000m2 of commercial space.

These will form part of the UK Central Hub area plans for 70,000 jobs, 5,000 new homes and 650,000m2 of commercial space, generating £6.2bn GVA per year and bringing 1.3m people to within a 45-minute public transport commute of the station.

The railway station is the first globally to achieve the BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ certification at the design stage – a measure of sustainability for new and refurbished buildings – putting it in the top 1% of buildings in the UK for eco-friendly credentials. This is a recognition of the station’s eco-friendly features including maximising natural daylight and ventilation, a station roof design which can capture and reuse rainwater, and features to enable net zero carbon emissions from day-to-day energy consumption. Energy efficient technology will also be incorporated, such as air source heat pumps and LED lighting.

The construction site for the station covers an area of 150 hectares, and is located within a triangle of land formed by the M42, A45 and A452. Work so far has included construction of modular bridges over the M42 and A446, and remodelling of the road network in the area to facilitate access to the new station.

There will be up to five trains per hour passing through the new station in both directions, with an estimated total of 175,000 seats per day, making this one of the best connected transport interchanges in the country.