Civils agency Colas Rail has scooped up a £206.9m job to develop HS2’s overhead wiring system.
The contractor will now design, manufacture, set up and take a look at HS2’s overhead catenary system (OCS), for 469km value of observe.
That can embody overhead wiring to provide electrical energy for 250 bridges, 58 viaducts, 47 underbridges and 148 overbridges, in response to a young discover launched final Thursday (6 February).
Colas Rail’s OCS may even cowl 115 culverts and 99 high-speed turnouts. These are switches enabling trains to maneuver from one observe to a different at speeds of as much as 230 kilometres per hour.
As well as, the contractor’s work will cowl 32 low-to-medium velocity turnouts (the place trains will run at as much as 100km per hour) and 4 advanced observe junctions.
The mission will not be the primary HS2 building job involving Colas Rail. Final April, Building Information visited the station field at HS2’s Previous Oak Widespread station in London – the place the firm is providing infrastructure for six overground tracks.
Colas Rail generated a pre-tax revenue of £27.9m from record turnover of £403.7m in its most up-to-date accounts for the 2023 calendar 12 months.
In distinction, its sister agency Colas Restricted described “increasing, irrecoverable costs” on a variety of tasks in 2023 in its most up-to-date accounts. The agency determined in November 2023 to scrap its regional enterprise items as a consequence.
HS2 has additionally confronted a difficult begin to the 12 months. Final month, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority gave it a red ‘unachievable’ rating for the second consecutive 12 months.
Additionally in January, HS2 submitted a new design for its Curzon Street terminus in Birmingham.
HS2 obtained define planning permission for Curzon Road in 2020, with early works beginning final 12 months.
