HS2 invited three bidders to tender for a major contract to provide and maintain the station control systems that will give trains approval to depart the platform at the high-speed rail project’s four new stations.
The companies invited by HS2 are:
- Hitachi Rail GTS UK Limited;
- Indra Sistemas S.A.;
- Siemens Mobility Limited
A network of cameras linked to central control rooms will monitor the 400-metre-long platforms – at London Euston, Old Oak Common, Interchange and Birmingham Curzon Street – to ensure that passengers have safely boarded the train before the signal is given to close the doors and leave the station.
This will help ensure trains, each carrying up to a thousand passengers, are able to depart as quickly as possible from the platform – achieving optimum dwell times and speeding up overall journeys.
Designed to provide a reliable, high-capacity service between the UK’s two largest cities, the first HS2 trains will run between 2029 and 2033. Services will later be extended to join the existing mainline north of Birmingham continuing to destinations such as Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester.
By keeping these longer distance non-stopping trains separate from slower services, the project will also free up space on the most congested southern end of the existing West Coast Main Line for more freight and local journeys.
Platform edge doors, procured under a separate contract, will be installed at Old Oak Common and Interchange. A small team of dispatchers in each station will monitor the cameras and use the functionality of the train dispatch system to give approval for the platform edge doors to close and the authorisation for the train to safely depart.
At terminus stations, such as Curzon Street, where platform edge doors won’t be provided, the approval will be sent directly to the train by the train dispatch system.
“HS2 will transform journeys between London, Birmingham and the north, boosting regional growth and freeing up space on the existing network for more freight and local services.
Train Dispatch Systems will play a vital role in the operation of our services – ensuring efficient and safe dispatch of the HS2 trains from our new stations. It’s great to see so much interest in these contracts and I look forward to working with the team to ensure we are able to deliver the best quality and value for the project,” HS2 Ltd’s Procurement Director, Andew Cubitt, said.
HS2 Ltd began the formal procurement process in October 2023 and intends to award two contracts to the same contractor – one for design, installation, testing and commissioning and another for up to 15 years of maintenance and technical support. Contracts will be awarded in 2025.
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