News

The construction of the UK’s longest railway bridge took another major step forward this week with the start of work on the first of 56 giant concrete piers that will support the Colne Valley Viaduct as it crosses a series of lakes on the outskirts of London.

• Two giant tunnel boring machines have been delivered to HS2’s West Ruislip site
• HS2’s Main Works Civils Contractor, Skanska Costain STRABAG joint venture begin assembly ready for launch in 2022

Young people from the West Midlands have gone on to secure full-time jobs supporting the construction of HS2, thanks to the Government’s Kickstart scheme.

• Funds will be used to build a new onsite changing facility to address the lack of changing room facilities for women, girls, and people with additional accessibility requirements.
• Alongside the new changing rooms, the renovation will also include new showers, kit and equipment storage, accessible toilets, and alternative access for wheelchair users.

• HS2 Community Fund grant will help replace facilities that were originally built over 25 years ago.

• Park redevelopment will include a zip wire, an integrated roundabout suitable for wheelchair users, and new woodland area.

• Major boost for UK train-building as HS2’s state-of-the-art fleet of 225mph (360km/h) high speed trains will be built by Alstom and Hitachi Rail at their factories in County Durham, Derby and Crewe

• Landmark contract set to support 2,500 jobs across the UK and boost the economy by over £157m each year

• New images of what the trains could look like, including broadcast quality video, available here: https://visual.library.hs2.org.uk/p/share/xX9lUd9E8rZ7
• View and embed an animation of the trains here: https://youtu.be/9eQC3mOlGQQ