HS2

Costain improved its net cash position in the first half (H1) of this year compared with H1 2022, despite a lower revenue, pre-tax profit and operating margin. The firm had £132.1m in cash on 30 June, marking a 38 per cent year-on-year increase. Chief executive Alex Vaughan told Construction News that this…

Contractors have demanded urgent clarity after a leaked report revealed that the Euston terminus of High Speed 2 (HS2) could be reduced to just seven platforms. An internal document drawn up by HS2 Ltd lists several options for cutting costs on the troubled central London station scheme, according to the…

Whitehall’s major projects body has given the HS2 programme an “unachievable” rating. The Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) gave a red rating to both the high-speed rail programme’s first phase and its phase 2a in a new annual report released on 20 July. The IPA's definition of a red rating…

HS2 has been told to publish regular reports on the status of its ground investigations in Cheshire, amid residents’ concerns about the viability of the scheme in challenging conditions. A committee of MPs looking at the draft law to approve phase 2b of the line between Crewe and Manchester highlighted…

High Speed 2 (HS2) has yet another problem to contend with after its long-time chief executive Mark Thurston announced his departure. Thurston will leave HS2 Ltd in the autumn, when chairman Jon Thompson – who joined the mega-project in 2021 – will step up as interim chief executive. The resignation…

An influential committee of MPs has said the government is unclear both on its ambitions for the HS2 Euston station and on the costs of pausing the project’s construction. A report from the House of Commons' Public Accounts Committee says that, despite eight years of planning, the Department for Transport…

The Skanska Costain Strabag joint venture (SCS JV) working on HS2 has been awarded an additional £305.3m by HS2 Ltd. The funds, awarded under the existing £3.8bn contract, will go towards works on Phase One of the new high-speed railway. They relate to planned and agreed changes to the scope…

HS2 has started the of production of 2,742 concrete segments that will be used to build the Delta Junction, a network of nine viaducts in the West Midlands. The segments are being made on site at a purpose-built outdoor factory at Kingsbury, Warwickshire. The 55,000 square-metre site employs around 1,000…

HS2 has begun to assemble a major railway viaduct that has been manufactured off site, in what it said was a first for the UK. All the major elements of the 880 metre-long Thame Valley Viaduct near Aylesbury are being made off site before being “slotted together on site like…

A watchdog has urged HS2 contractors to improve their communication with the public over stalled elements of the £100bn scheme. The independent construction commissioner for the rapid rail project, Mark Worthington, said residents “need a clear idea of what to expect and when to expect it” after the latest delays…