CH2M Hill, the US parent of UK consulting engineer Halcrow, has been picked by HS2 Ltd as its development partner for the High Speed 2 rail project.
HS2 Ltd chief executive Alison Munro said: “Now that HS2 is up and running, it’s time to bring new people on board and I’m very pleased to welcome CH2M Hill as our development partner for the next phase of this exciting project – we will now be able to move forward without delay.
“The appointment means that we will have world class project managers and technical experts working alongside us to deliver the design, engineering and environmental work necessary for the hybrid bill. They will bring, in particular, their highly regarded experience of working on HS1 and Crossrail, two major UK infrastructure projects that have direct relevance to our work.”
Halcrow’s experience with HS1 (the original Channel Tunnel Rail Link) and Crossrail was a major factor in its selection. CH2M Hill has also successfully delivered the construction for the 2012 London Olympics as the Olympic Delivery Authority’s delivery partner, and programme managed the London Tideway Tunnel and Crossrail.
To head off potential criticism about awarding such a major project to an foreign firm, HS2 Ltd stressed that “the 80 strong team that will work alongside HS2 Ltd will largely consist of project management and engineering specialists from the UK”.
CH2M Hill will project manage the professional services companies who will carry out the design, environmental and land referencing work for the London to West Midlands line. HS2 Ltd is currently tendering for these professional services contracts.
HS2 Ltd is also creating around 90 new roles for engineering, environmental and public affairs specialists and other roles within the company, for which it has started recruiting.
