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HS2 | Phase 1 | London to Birmingham | 140mi/225km | U/C

593K views 3K replies 173 participants last post by  CharlieP 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
HS2 Phase 1 contracts have been awarded and in addition to this, Phase 2A into Crewe will be complete by 2027, a year after phase 1 is due to complete and have trains operating in 2026.

The Guardian said:
The first major preparatory works for HS2 are starting around Euston station this summer, including the closure of a public park and demolition of hundreds of homes on neighbouring estates, as local residents brace for up to a decade of disruption. High-speed trains from London to Birmingham are due to start running in 2026.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...te-for-hs2-north-of-birmingham-to-be-revealed

The BBC said:
The route
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40627464
 
#6 ·
Crude drawing on Google Earth I've made regarding Euston - does anyone know exactly what will be demolished to make way for HS2, is it roughly everything in the red outline?
There are various older plans that show you may have missed out the approaches...

i.e.
http://www.thehs2.com/phase1/locations/euston/euston.jpg
https://hs2andtheenvironment.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/map_of_euston_throat.jpg
https://hs2andtheenvironment.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/euston_station_footprint.jpg
https://beleben.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/euston-hs2-platforms.png
https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/pictures/2000x2000fit/2/5/0/1282250_Euston_Map.jpg

...and so on.
 
#3 ·
HS2 Civils contracts

Right - dare I say it, this is a very important post in the history of HS2. We now know the exact value of the seven main civils contracts awarded yesterday.

However before I list them, go back to March last year and Railway Technology Magazine listed the minimum and maximum expected costs for each contract.

23/03/2016
http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/HS2/major-12bn-hs2-main-
HS2 Ltd has today announced a shortlist of nine bidders in the race to win at least one of seven main civil engineering contracts worth between £7.1bn and £11.8bn

The seven packages are divided as follows:
Lot S1: Euston Tunnels and approaches (£600m-£900m), for which CEK JV, Fusion, Momentum Infrastructure and SCS are bidding
Lot S2: Northolt Tunnels (£850m - £1.4bn), for which Align JV, CEK JV, Fusion and SCS are bidding
Lot C1: Chiltern Tunnels and Colne Valley Viaduct (£800m - £1.3bn), for which Align JV, BBV, LFM and SCS are bidding
Lot C2: North Portal Chiltern Tunnels to Brackley (£800m - £1.3bn), for which Align JV, BBV, CEK JV and Momentum Infrastructure are bidding
Lot C3: Brackley to Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel South Portal (£600m - £900m), for which Align JV, ASL, Catalyst, CEK JV and Momentum Infrastructure are bidding
Lot N1: Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel to Delta Junction/Birmingham Spur (£900m-£1.5bn), for which BBV, Fusion, LFM and SCS are bidding
Lot N2: Delta Junction to West Coast Main Line Tie-in (£800m - £1.3bn), for which BBV, Fusion, LFM and Momentum Infrastructure are bidding
And the reality, allowing for one years inflation?

Lot S1, Euston tunnels and approaches valued at circa £740m (max £900m)
Lot S2, Northolt tunnels - valued at circa £1.1bn (Max £1.4bn)
Lot C1, Chiltern Tunnels/Colne Valley viaduct: valued at circa £965m (Max £1.3bn)
Lot C2: North Portal Chiltern Tunnels to Brackley: £724m (Max £1.3bn)
Lot C3 - Brackley to Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel South Portal: £616m. (max £900)
Lot N1, Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel to Delta Junction and the Birmingham Spur. Valued at circa £1.32bn, (Max £1.5bn)
Lot N2, Delta Junction to Handsacre Junction: - valued at circa £1.15bn, (Max £1.3bn).

Total: £6.615 billion - half a £billion LESS than last years lowest estimate. So it would seem HS2 Ltd have over-estimated the cost of constructing the railway!!! :):) :cheers:

Up yours, Berkeley & Byng!
 
#5 ·
Total: £6.615 billion - half a £billion LESS than last years lowest estimate. So it would seem HS2 Ltd have over-estimated the cost of constructing the railway!!! :):) :cheers:

Up yours, Berkeley & Byng!
Good news, although I urge you to be wary of counting chickens too soon. Government contracts have, in the past, gone up after the bid. Either because of political reasons, where it looks bad to have contractors fail, or through loopholes, or possibly other reasons.

Still, the estimated figures so far sound like they were erring on the side of caution, and none were stupidly low, so hopefully this will not be a problem.
 
#11 ·
One thing we know is that 20 years from now, people will look back and wonder what the fuss kicked up by the antis over HS2 was all about.
 
#17 ·
^^ The first Wolverhampton station was in Wednesfield, a few miles away!

Although when talking about the nimbyism we shouldn't forget the horror that those living in slums in Victorian Britain were put through during the building of our railways, not least the London termini. We should be thankful that it's not so easy to just plough a railway through a city in the modern age and especially that the poor whose neighborhoods are destroyed would at least be properly compensated.
 
#20 ·
First major railway related works for HS2 next month.

https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds...urneys-ahead-biggest-august-bank-holiday-yet/

Euston

Summary: Euston station will be closed for train services on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 August while a major power supply to the station is rerouted by Network Rail on behalf of HS2 Ltd.
Travel advice: Plan your journeys on days other than the Saturday and Sunday of the bank holiday, and only travel on those days if absolutely essential. If you do travel, alternative routes will be available but will be busier than usual and journeys will take longer.
 
#21 ·
The 10-day stand-still period has ended and Costain have revealed more details of the work valued at £1.8 billion that will be undertaken for contracts S1 and S2.

http://www.lse.co.uk/AllNews.asp?co...ally_Awarded_GBP180_Billion_HS2_Work_Packages

Costain said the first package covers linking London Euston and Old Oak Common in northwest London, with the construction of two tunnels of 8.8 kilometres each and a bridge extension.

The second package will run from Old Oak Common, with two tunnels of 13.7 kilometres each and an above-ground section of 2.2 kilometres that will link up with Lot C1, which is the Chiltern Tunnels and Colne Valley Viaduct section.

The design phase of the works is to be completed in 2018, with construction to be completed by 2023.
So it is now possible with some accuracy to work out the real world costs in 2017 of 22.5 kilometres of twin bored tunnelling. Assume the tunnels cost £1.6 billion and that comes out as an average of £71.1 million per kilometre or £115 million a mile.

Back in 2013 I wrote this (based on a 2012 FOI request to HS2):
HS2 Ltd has confirmed the cost of tunnelling twin bore 7.2m High Speed tunnels is about £100 million a mile, to which about 50% needs to be added for the final fitting out costs.
.
Some might say ''hold on, the real world figure is 15% higher'' - but two things need to be taken into account:

1) Five years worth of inflation.
2) Only the shorter Euston to OOC tunnels will be 7.2m diameter, suitable for 230 km/h running. The much longer OOC - Ruislip tunnels are a larger diameter to allow for higher speeds and would obviously cost more to construct.

So in conclusion? Despite the claims made by the anti mob and Lord Berkeley and his chum Byng, HS2 Ltd's calculations were very much in the ball park. This is now absolute and undeniable.
 
#22 ·
Yesterday the four winning consortia attended the HS2 Ltd HQ in Brum and the construction contracts are now signed and sealed! :cheers:

Skanska / Costain / Strabag won both southern deals, being chosen for the Euston tunnels and approaches package, worth £740m, and the Northolt Tunnels package, valued at £1bn.

Carillion / Kier / Eiffage clinched the central packages, picking up the £742m C2 North Portal Chiltern Tunnels to Brackley and the £616m C3 Brackley to Long Itchington Wood Green south portal.

Balfour Beatty / Vinci landed both packages for the northern section of the line, landing the Wood Green tunnel to Delta Junction / Birmingham Spur worth £1.32bn and the Delta Junction to West Coast Main Line section worth £1.15bn.

The Align JV secured the Chiltern Tunnel and Colne viaduct worth £965m.
More here, including a group photo...

https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/...22172.article?blocktitle=News&contentID=14653
 
#23 ·
Yesterday the four winning consortia attended the HS2 Ltd HQ in Brum and the construction contracts are now signed and sealed! :cheers:



More here, including a group photo...

https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/...22172.article?blocktitle=News&contentID=14653
They state this:
The lots will be awarded in two stages. Stage one will see teams given 16 months to develop a design, a programme and a target cost for the works.
Stage two will see construction of the main works begin in 2018/19 and is expected to take between four and five years to complete.
So, are these contracts just for the design stage or the construction as well?

It is a bit confusing wording.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Sounds to me like a "design and build" contract with a sort of "break clause" (EDIT - perhaps a "stage gate" would be a better term) after the "design" stage in case the contractors come up with something - including projected cost - that HS2 Ltd are not happy with.

In view of the sums of money involved, it would be very expensive if the contracts let are just for 16 months design effort.
 
#28 ·
It's mostly explained here, achieved by typing in the url on the banner. Here clarifies the buses London Midland will run, and the Underground routes one can use with tickets.
  • Sleepers diverted via ECML into Kings Cross
  • London Midland services from the Midlands will terminate at Northampton
  • London Midland services south of Northampton will be a half-hourly shuttle between Northampton and Hemel (Saturday) / MK (Sunday).
  • Rail replacement buses will run between Watford Junction and Harrow & Wealdstone and Hemel/MK to Stanmore. And certain underground routes will be allowable with tickets
  • Virgin West Coast trains have a convoluted system of valid alternate routes (designed to spread people about several lines)
  • Chiltern will run a revised timetable focusing on Marylebone - Leamington Spa - Moor Street and implementing queuing systems to deal with the passengers
 
#37 ·
I doubt "major" construction will get going for a while yet. In the mean time, there's going to be plenty of "enabling" works (utility diversions, survey works, construction compound mobilisation, habitat creation, etc. etc.) I've found a few planning applications on local authority web sites, not much available at present, mostly mitigation schemes for future wildlife relocation. Here's a link to a few in Warks...

https://www.warwickdc.gov.uk/info/20374/planning_applications/1146/hs2_planning_submissions

Euston has a web site, but that's daaan saaf of course...

https://hs2ineuston.commonplace.is/
 
#45 ·
The hospital was not listed and that area on the busy Hampstead Road is full of hideous modern buildings. I guess conservation of the Victorian building was clearly not wanted by anyone.

Link from the hs2 in Euston webpage, including an overhead view.

https://hs2ineuston.commonplace.is/schemes/happening-now/temperance-hospital/details

When will be work take place?

August 2016 – December 2016
Site secured and hoarded. Asbestos removal and removal of internal walls
and windows from Vezey Wing.

December 2016 – June 2017
Demolition of Vezey Wing in phases to leave a cleared hoarded site.

August 2017 – September 2017
Pre-demolition surveys of Insull Wing after securing the building with hoarding to leave a cleared site to be used as construction compound.

October 2017 – December 2017
Soft strip of the Insull Wing.

January 2018 – February 2018
Scaffold encapsulation of the building and hoarding erection.

January 2018 – April 2018
Demolition of Insull Wing to leave a clear site to be used potentially as a material sorting yard.
 
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