{"id":494283,"date":"2026-07-31T19:30:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T09:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railuk.com\/?p=197285"},"modified":"2026-07-31T19:30:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T09:30:05","slug":"hs2-signs-new-civil-engineering-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=494283","title":{"rendered":"HS2 signs new civil engineering deals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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HS2 Ltd has successfully renegotiated contracts with two of the civil engineering joint-ventures building Britain\u2019s new high-speed railway as part of the programme reset.\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

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.\u202fThis\u202frepresents\u202fa significant step forward in the commitment to get HS2 back on track and deliver the remaining works at the lowest reasonable cost.\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

EKFB – a joint venture of Eiffage, Kier, Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall \u2013 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\u202fItchington\u202fWood in Warwickshire.\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

Align \u2013 a joint venture made up of Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and\u202fVolkerFitzpatrick\u202f\u2013 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.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

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Align EKFB route map. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The\u202fprevious\u202fcontracting model with civils contractors was\u202festablished\u202fbefore project construction formally started in 2020 and was\u202fidentified\u202fby\u202fMark Wild as one of the\u202fmajor issues\u202fto be addressed as part of his\u202finitial\u202fadvice to the Secretary of State for Transport\u202flast year.\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

The previous contracts were ineffective at encouraging efficient delivery of civil engineering works,\u202fplacing almost all risk on the taxpayer by failing to incentivise schedule or cost targets.\u202fBy 2024, the original \u00a315 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.\u202f<\/p>\n

The two new contracts reset incentives by rewarding efficient delivery and cost control through a revised payment structure with contractors, ensuring\u202fthey\u202fare incentivised to deliver on budget and on time.\u202f<\/p>\n

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 \u00a393.2 billion cost ambition announced by the Government in May.\u202f<\/p>\n

Lord Hendy, Minister of State for Rail, said:\u202f\u202f\u202f”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.\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

“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.\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

“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.”\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

Mark Wild, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, added:\u202f \u201cThis is good news, but there\u2019s more to\u202fdo,\u202fBringing\u202fan end to HS2\u2019s cost over-runs and delays is a shared ambition, and I\u2019d 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.\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

\u201cInvesting in world-class infrastructure is vital to securing economic growth, but it cannot come at any cost. Today\u2019s announcement\u202frepresents\u202fa significant step forward in our mission to regain control of HS2.\u201d\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

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.\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

All 46 miles of twin-bore tunnels between Old Oak Common and Birmingham are excavated, 108 million cubic metres of earthworks have been\u202fcompleted\u202fand 177 bridges and viaducts are currently being built.\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

Negotiations with HS2\u2019s two other civil engineering joint\u202fventures are ongoing. The Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV) joint venture\u202fis responsible for\u202fa 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.\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f<\/p>\n

The reset will continue into spring 2027 when a new ‘baseline’ \u2013 the roadmap setting out HS2\u2019s delivery timetable \u2013 will be finalised.\u202f<\/p>\n

Image credit: HS2<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>HS2 Ltd has successfully renegotiated contracts with two of the civil engineering joint-ventures building Britain\u2019s new high-speed railway as part of the programme reset.\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f 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.\u202fThis\u202frepresents\u202fa significant step forward in [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8202,16204,1089,16017,343,47,85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-494283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-company-news","category-contract-news","category-hs2","category-industry-news","category-infrastructure","category-rail-news","category-uk"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t