HS2 Ltd has successfully renegotiated contracts with two of the civil engineering joint-ventures building Britain’s new high-speed railway as part of the programme reset.
New commercial contracts have been signed with EKFB and Align which collectively account for more than 100km of the HS2 route between London and the West Midlands. This represents a significant step forward in the commitment to get HS2 back on track and deliver the remaining works at the lowest reasonable cost.
EKFB – a joint venture of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall – is delivering civil engineering works on an 80km section of the high-speed railway between the north portal of the Chiltern Tunnel in Buckinghamshire and Long Itchington Wood in Warwickshire.
Align – a joint venture made up of Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick – is constructing 24km of the route in outer London and south Buckinghamshire, with major assets including the Colne Valley Viaduct and Chiltern Tunnel, the longest structures of their kind on HS2.
The previous contracting model with civils contractors was established before project construction formally started in 2020 and was identified by Mark Wild as one of the major issues to be addressed as part of his initial advice to the Secretary of State for Transport last year.
The previous contracts were ineffective at encouraging efficient delivery of civil engineering works, placing almost all risk on the taxpayer by failing to incentivise schedule or cost targets. By 2024, the original £15 billion budget allocated in 2020 for the main civils contracts on HS2 Phase 1 (London to West Midlands) had been spent, despite works being far from complete.
The two new contracts reset incentives by rewarding efficient delivery and cost control through a revised payment structure with contractors, ensuring they are incentivised to deliver on budget and on time.
This approach will help ensure HS2 is built at the lowest reasonable cost and provides greater confidence that HS2 Ltd can deliver the remaining programme in line with the £93.2 billion cost ambition announced by the Government in May.
Lord Hendy, Minister of State for Rail, said: ”These new contracts are an important milestone in the reset of HS2. The waste and mismanagement of the past are behind us – we are now laser-focused on delivering this project efficiently and responsibly for taxpayers.
“By resetting contractor incentives and rewarding cost control, we are making sure every pound spent delivers real value and that the project is built at the lowest reasonable cost.
“Under Mark Wild’s leadership and with close ministerial oversight, HS2 is being built faster and more efficiently than ever before – across the West Midlands and West London over the next decade, while sustaining 31,000 jobs across the country.”
Mark Wild, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, added: “This is good news, but there’s more to do, Bringing an end to HS2’s cost over-runs and delays is a shared ambition, and I’d like to thank every one of the parent companies at both EKFB and Align for their willingness to negotiate and their commitment to doing the right thing for British taxpayers.
“Investing in world-class infrastructure is vital to securing economic growth, but it cannot come at any cost. Today’s announcement represents a significant step forward in our mission to regain control of HS2.”
Performance is moving in the right direction on the project, with more of the railway being built. HS2 is now at peak construction, with a workforce of over 30,000 people.
All 46 miles of twin-bore tunnels between Old Oak Common and Birmingham are excavated, 108 million cubic metres of earthworks have been completed and 177 bridges and viaducts are currently being built.
Negotiations with HS2’s two other civil engineering joint ventures are ongoing. The Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) joint venture is responsible for a 90km section of the railway in the West Midlands, while Skanska Costain STRABAG is building the 21km London tunnels section of HS2 beneath the capital from West Ruislip to Euston.
The reset will continue into spring 2027 when a new ‘baseline’ – the roadmap setting out HS2’s delivery timetable – will be finalised.
Image credit: HS2
