HS2

Catch up on the latest news, opinion and analysis relating to the UK’s troubled High Speed 2 rail project (HS2).

10 projects to watch in 2024

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Which projects are likely to have the biggest impact on the industry in the year ahead? Keith Cooper reports Houses of Parliament Politicians and construction firms alike are standing by for more details on the beleaguered Palace of Westminster restoration. After more than 7,500 hours of surveys being carried out…

CN’s top 10 features of 2023: safety, finance and project reports

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10. How do we make modular buildings safer? More than eight months after fire-service leaders published a five-page document outlining a litany of concerns about modular buildings, and more than a year-and-a-half after safety body Cross-UK highlighted the potential for concealed spread of fire inside extensive cavities within such structures,…

Review of 2023: HS2

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This year saw setback after setback for the UK’s biggest construction project. In March, construction on phase 2a from Birmingham to Crewe and the Euston terminus was pushed back by two years. Then further alarm bells sounded: leaked documents suggested Euston might be cut to seven platforms, and the Infrastructure…

A bridge so far: HS2’s Colne Valley viaduct

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Crossing a busy road and several waterways, building HS2’s Colne Valley Viaduct has prompted some novel approaches. Ben Vogel finds out how the Align JV is taking on the challenge Project: Colne Valley Viaduct and Chiltern Tunnels, both part of HS2 Phase One Central 1 (C1) Client: HS2 C1 overall…

Supply chain communication is key to carbon action

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Early collaboration among construction-sector partners would give clients, contractors and suppliers a better chance of decarbonising their operations, a recent roundtable discussion heard. But while innovative technology can play an important part in meeting net-zero targets, getting better at the basics is crucial, too. Mike Walter reports On the panel…

Steel: what lies ahead for construction’s most expensive material?

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The cost of steel rose so steeply this year that even some of the biggest project managers in the country were beginning to feel the heat. Prices, which had been largely stable at around £350 per tonne, were suddenly hitting levels of between £500 and £700, and even more. The…

Offsite at scale: inside HS2’s prefab factories

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The precast factories for HS2’s Colne Valley Viaduct and the Chiltern Tunnel are responsible for some of the most ambitious prefabrication works ever attempted in the UK. Joshua Stein reports

Scheme Central 1 (C1) package of HS2 Phase 1 – Colne Valley Viaduct and Chiltern Tunnel, Hillingdon Client HS2 Main contractor Align…

Saving a megaproject: is there still hope for HS2’s eastern leg?

HS2 Close-up of the Chiltern Tunnel, south portal, in the summer of 2021

Given that history is littered with spiked infrastructure schemes that are later revived, Greg Pitcher examines whether the recent government announcement to cancel the eastern leg of HS2 to Leeds really means it is all over

Months of uncertainty and speculation over the future of the eastern leg of HS2 appeared…

Inside HS2: the innovations at Old Oak Common

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The Leeds leg of HS2 may have been pulled but, in west London, construction is powering ahead. Paul Thompson reports on the techniques employed at the megaproject to aid delivery of two major schemes in one

Project Old Oak Common Station Box Contract value £1.67bn Client HS2 Ltd Main contractor…

Influencing clients and the supply chain: how is net-zero shaping the industry?

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A recent Construction News roundtable, sponsored by BAM, examined how clients, contractors and investors are shaping their approaches to carbon reduction

On the panel Yetunde Abdul, head of climate action, UK Green Building Council Martyn Coombes, engineering manager, Southampton Airport Stephen Elderkin, project director, National Highways Stacey Flor, managing director,…