HS2

HS2 has launched its third tunnel boring machine (TBM), which will drill 3.4 miles under London. The TBM, known as Emily, will cover the route between the Victoria Road Crossover Box, near Old Oak Common, to Greenpark Way in Greenford. Emily is the third of four TBMs launched to construct…

The government has reallocated £4.7bn from the axed HS2 Northern leg towards local transport in the North and Midlands. The Local Transport Fund, part of the government’s Network North programme, will distribute £2.5bn to local authorities in the North of England and £2.2bn to councils in the Midlands over seven…

Align JV has paused planned construction work on the Colne Valley Viaduct as it carries out “urgent remedial works”. The contractor, which is formed of Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine and VolkerFitzpatrick, announced the delay in a letter sent to local residents – as first reported by Construction News’…

Any cut to HS2’s landscaping specification budget could have a “significant” impact on the rail line’s carbon-saving agenda, the mega-project’s independent design panel has warned. The money-saving potential for  via cuts to landscape specification is also “small” compared to other avenues, according to the latest biannual report published by the…

HS2 offers “very poor value for money” after the cancellation of its northern leg, according to the Public Accounts Committee. In a report published on 6 February, the committee said that non-departmental public body HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport (DfT) do not know the costs of the scheme…

Tributes have been paid to the drill worker who died on an HS2 site last year. Charlie Harper died on 28 April 2023, aged 71, a day after being hit by the end of an unsecured pipe. Harper had been undertaking horizontal directional drilling at a Solihull site operated by…

A coroner has issued a safety warning about drilling and pipe dispensing after a 71-year-old man died at an HS2 site in Birmingham last year. Charlie Harper suffered serious abdominal and chest injuries after being struck by the end of a polyethylene coiled pipe on 27 April 2023. The tail…

Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) has been found in two more prisons, with the Ministry of Justice expecting to spend around £900,000 on remediation. The collapse-risk concrete has now been identified in HMP Leyhill, a category D prison in Gloucestershire, as well as HMP Parkhurst, a category B premises that…

HS2 is preparing to apply for an extension to the injunction banning “disruptive protests” on its route, including on the cancelled phase 2a, Construction News can reveal. The legal measure, first granted in 2022, bans anyone from entering or remaining on HS2-owned land; obstructing or otherwise interfering with vehicle access;…

Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out reviving HS2’s second phase if he wins power at the next general election. After several months during which his party has not committed to a position on the megaproject since Rishi Sunak cancelled its northern leg in October, the Labour leader said on Thursday…