Bidders for £2.75Bn HS2 trains

HS2 Ltd has revealed the companies competing to construct Britain’s next generation of trains, giving a boost to high tech skills and expertise in the UK.

The new state-of-the-art trains will travel at speeds of up to 225mph and carry tens of thousands of people everyday across the new high speed network.

The new trains will be designed to provide unparalleled levels of reliability, speed and comfort, as well as providing much-needed extra capacity between the UK’s major cities.

Shortlisted bidders invited to tender for the contracts are: Alstom Transport; Bombardier Transportation UK Ltd; Hitachi Rail Europe; Patentes Talgo S.L.U and Siemens PLC. The contracts comprise the design, build and maintenance of at least 54 trains due to come into service from 2026.

The first trains are expected to come off the production line in the early 2020s. The new trains will be required to meet HS2’s design and performance needs and the highest standards internationally for passenger experience, noise reduction, and environmental sustainability, while maximising skills, employment and growth opportunities.

The announcement is the latest in a series of milestones achieved on the HS2 project. The National College for High Speed Rail has opened recently in Birmingham and Doncaster, aiming to boost Britain’s skills and expertise in the high speed rail sector. HS2 is expected to create around 25,000 jobs and 2,000 apprenticeships both directly in construction and also across the UK-wide supply chain.

Welcoming the shortlist, HS2 Minister Paul Maynard said: “Thousands of skilled British jobs and apprenticeships will be created by HS2, which gets a step closer as we reveal the companies shortlisted to build the high speed trains.

“HS2 will see some of the world’s fastest trains connecting our great cities across the north and Midlands, creating an economy that works for everyone. But announcements like this show how the benefits of HS2 will resonate far beyond the opening of the new railway. HS2’s legacy of jobs and skills is already being created.”

Chris Rayner, HS2 Ltd Managing Director – Railway Operations, said: “It’s great to see such a strong line up of experienced high-tech manufacturing and design talent. Together with the successful bidder, HS2will deliver some of the world’s most advanced rolling stock, engineered to provide seamless, accessible, fast and reliable journeys.

“Starting from 2026, our trains will be used by tens of thousands of people every day, transforming links across the Midlands and the North and providing much-needed extra capacity between Britain’s major cities.”

All five bidders will be invited to tender in spring 2018, with contracts awarded in 2019.

Maintenance services will be provided from a depot planned for Washwood Heath in Birmingham. The area will also be home to the HS2 Network Control Centre, which will together create hundreds of skilled jobs.

 

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