On August 1st, High Speed Two Ltd announced the formal signing of contracts to deliver the tunnels, bridges and earthworks that will carry the first phase of the UK’s new high speed railway from London to Birmingham in 2026.
HS2 Chief Executive, Mark Thurston, was joined by representatives from SCS JV, Align JV, CEK JV and Balfour Beatty Vinci, in a signing ceremony at the company’s Birmingham head office. The winning companies, whose names were released by the Department for Transport in July, will go on to support 16,000 jobs across the UK-wide supply chain as they deliver what will be the biggest investment in UK’s transport infrastructure since the building of the motorways.
“HS2 is more than just a railway. The contracts we sign today will provide much needed extra capacity and connectivity between our major cities, but it will also unlock huge opportunities for new jobs, homes and economic development and start to rebalance our economy,” Mark Thurston said.
A team made up of Skanska, Costain and Strabag (SCS JV) will build the first section of the route which is in a tunnel between Euston and Old Oak Common and onwards to Northolt.
Align JV, a team made up of Bouygues, VolkerFitzpatrick and Sir Robert McAlpine will build the next stage, including the Colne Valley Viaduct and Chilterns Tunnel. 
The largely rural stages between the Chilterns Tunnel and Long Itchington will be built by a team made up of Carillion, Eiffage and Kier (CEK JV).
A team made up of Balfour Beatty and Vinci will complete the route, taking the line north past Birmingham Airport and into the new Curzon Street station in the centre of Birmingham, as well as onward to a connection with the existing West Coast Mainline at Handsacre.
The contracts are two-stage, with the contractors spending the first 16 months working collaboratively with HS2 Ltd on the detailed design before construction begins around 2018/19. Preparatory work has already begun on the project with geological investigation underway across the route and ecological and archaeological work due to begin soon.
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