Capacity

First tunnelling breakthrough on HS2

HS2 is celebrating the very first tunnelling breakthrough on its one-mile dig under Long Itchington Wood in Warwickshire. The 2,000-tonne 125m long Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) named ‘Dorothy’ – after Dorothy Hodgkin, who in 1964 became the first British woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, started its journey at the tunnel’s North Portal in December 2021, broke through the wall of the reception box at the South Portal site on Friday 22 July 2022. Nearly 400 people working for HS2’s main works civils contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV JV) have delivered this important milestone on the HS2 project. (more…)

By Deborah, ago

HIGH SPEED RAIL IS ESSENTIAL TO LEVELLING UP BRITAIN

Our latest report – High Speed Rail: Levelling Up Voices – brings together influential voices from across politics, business and academia to make the case for the benefits of rail infrastructure investment, which include:

  • allowing the efficient movement of people and goods in towns and cities across the UK;
  • creating  larger and more unified labour markets;
  • improving peoples’ access to local services;
  • enhancing firm-to-firm connectivity; and
  • expanding access to new and existing markets.

In short, investing in and improving transport connectivity results in a boost to living standards, more resources diverted toward skills and education, and restored local pride and opportunity across the UK – all of which are core tenets of the levelling up agenda.

You can download the full report here: High Speed Rail Levelling Up Voices

Following the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery is central to the Government’s forward-looking agenda. But the report contributors make clear that (more…)

By Deborah, ago

New designs for HS2 London Euston station

Two brand-new images have been released showing the concept design for the exterior and interior of the new HS2 station at London Euston.  The designs, updated from 2015, are based on a less complex, more efficient, ten-platform station which can now be built in a single stage. They have been drawn up by a design consortium made up of Arup, WSP and Grimshaw Architects, working into HS2’s Station Construction Partner, Mace Dragados JV (MDJV). (more…)

By Deborah, ago