All the latest news and views.
Work has started on the installation of 2,000 vertical concrete columns for the foundations of Birmingham’s Curzon Street Station – marking a critical milestone in the construction of HS2’s city centre rail hub. The majority of the piles on the 100,000 square metre site will support the new station building Read more…
Rail investment is far more than a short-term cost: it is a driver of national growth and regional connectivity. The approval in the budget to complete HS2’s critical link from Old Oak Common to Euston marks a pivotal step forward. We hope that an era of fragmented, short-term decision making Read more…
HS2’s Interchange Station in Solihull has taken a step forward after a 20-strong team carefully lifted 15 colossal bridge beams into position. Hoisted into place onto existing abutments and piers using a 650-tonne crane, the concrete beams form the ‘building blocks’ of a road bridge that will take vehicles over the Read more…
We have publicly warned Treasury against making ill-advised short term savings on HS2 at the taxpayer’s expense in the medium to long term, arguing that if HS2 is extended to Euston in central London and north of Birmingham to Crewe, the Government can generate substantial returns via its concession value Read more…
HS2 has revealed a series of improvements to the design of the railway’s landmark Birmingham Curzon Street station – further enhancing the passenger experience, accessibility and internal layout. Under the detailed plans, the station will be fitted with additional cycle parking, better accessibility, more seating spaces and simplified access between Read more…
Contractors building a new viaduct for HS2 have lowered into place its final deck segment in an operation that crowns it as Britain’s new longest rail bridge. The gently-curved 3.4 kilometre (2.1 mile) long structure on London’s north-western edge stretches across the Colne Valley near the M25 motorway and the Read more…
We welcome the Opportunity through Connectivity report commissioned by the Mayors of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, which acknowledges that a line between Birmingham and Manchester is essential to deliver capacity and economic benefits across the North and Midlands. It is critical that HS2 Phase 1 is properly connected Read more…
We welcome the launch of the Rail and Urban Transport Review by Juergen Maier and the Urban Transport Group. The report echoes our recently published 5-point plan, rightly emphasising the need for a comprehensive North-South and East-West travel strategy, as well as the critical importance of engaging the infrastructure investment community Read more…
A specialist cantilever process has been used for the first time in the UK to build the first span of a 472-metre-long single track viaduct in the West Midlands. The River Tame West Viaducts carry three rail tracks in total, made up of one single track viaduct and one double-track viaduct. Read more…
The National Audit Office (NAO) report makes clear the plan the incoming Labour government is inheriting – a truncated HS2, and a West Coast Main Line operating at capacity – is not going to help grow the national economy, nor is it going to allow train performance on the West Read more…