The winners of the rail systems contracts will deliver 280 miles of track for the HS2 programme
The contractors will oversee the next stage of HS2’s construction, which includes 140 miles of tunnels, bridges, and earthworks.
The works will span from London to the West Midlands as the tracks are built to accommodate the trains capable of going 225mph.
The contract winners will also be responsible for power supply and signalling equipment
The contract winners will be working with a network of optical fibre cabling, acting as the central nervous system for the HS2 railway, powering and controlling signalling and communications for both rail staff and passengers. The cables, end-to-end, will stretch for over 1,200 miles.
The contracts’ collective value is around £3bn, and they will create or support tens of thousands of jobs across the regions.
The main contractors in the rail systems programme will work together under a collaborative Rail Systems Alliance structure, which will allow them to manage interfaces between them and easier resolution of conflicts in the programme.
Design, access, resources, and logistics will all be collaborative; working towards common goals in costs and scheduling.
The design stage is set to run in parallel with the completion of the civil engineering phase, ensuring the contractors can mobilise as soon as possible.
This announcement comes just two months after HS2 Ltd announced six firms as winners of their Innovation Accelerator programme, providing 20 weeks of business support for software solutions before being given opportunities to work in the wider industry, including in the HS2 supply chain.
The full list of rail systems contractors and their work:
- Ferrovial Construction / BAM Nuttall JV – Will oversee design and construction of track infrastructure, manage construction logistics, support testing and commissioning. They will act as principal contractor for trace associated works, and will be responsible for logistics. Work will cover route from Old Oak Common to Birmingham Curzon Street terminus, including infrastructure maintenance depot at Calvert, interface with Washwood Heath rolling stock maintenance depot, and permanent connection to existing rail networks at Handsacre Junction.
- Colas Rail Limited – Will design, manufacture, supply, install, test, and commission Overhead Catenary Systems (OCS), using V360 OCS design range. This system was first used in Europe for trains with speeds up to 360km/h and will provide power for HS2 trains.
- Siemens Mobility Limited – Will design, manufacture, supply, install, safety authorise, test, commission, and perform initial maintenance of the operational telecommunication system and route-wide security system. Any capacity spare within the fibre-optic network can also boost broadband for more isolated communities. Siemens will also be responsible for the unique digital Command, Control, & Signalling system and Traffic Management system that HS2 will utilise as opposed to traditional coloured lights. They will design, manufacture, supply, install, supervise, inspect, safety authorise, test, commission, and maintain these systems until handover to trial operations takes place. Furthermore, Siemens will be responsible for designing, manufacturing, supplying, installing, integrating, testing, commissioning, and maintaining the digital engineering management system, an integrated supervisory control and data acquisition solution across the whole network with up to 25 years of technical support.
- Hitachi Rail GTS UK Limited / Telent Technology Services Limited joint venture – Responsible for design, manufacture, supply, installation, safety authorisation, testing, commissioning, and initial maintenance of the third party telecommunications systems, providing mobile communications for customers as well as emergency services and station data network.
These contractors will bring HS2 a huge step closer to completion over the next few years, and a separate contract is in plans to be awarded next year for the delivery of the Washwood Heath depot and Network Integrated Control Centre.
