HS2 Limited has alerted companies to a raft of new contracts valued at around £5 billion which it said will be announced in full shortly.
The huge package of works in 2024 will enable the physical operation of the rail line between London and the West Midlands, including the building of tracks, power, signalling, overhead lines and a control centre.
A new telecom system guaranteeing uninterrupted calls and streaming along the entire 140-mile route will also be constructed.
It follows the company publishing details of more than 300 work packages worth over £1 billion its construction partners will procure in the next 18 months.
Early in 2024, HS2 Limited said it expects the formal start of work on the new Curzon Street station in Birmingham.
It is also expecting to award contracts for the rail systems that will dictate the operation of the line when it opens between 2029 and 2033.
Eleven contracts are already out to tender and are expected to be awarded this year, said HS2 Limited.
Three contracts will be for the design, logistics and installation of the track system, as well as a maintenance depot at Calvert in Buckinghamshire. Another will cover the signalling system feeding information directly into cabs.
While a further contract will be awarded for the high-voltage power system used by the line, and another to construct HS2’s “nerve centre” at Washwood Heath in Birmingham.
Construction of many parts of HS2’s rail system is expected to begin from 2026/7 when main civil engineering work reaches completion.
Sir Jon Thompson, HS2 Limited’s executive chairman, said: “This is a project of phenomenal scale and ambition and we’re immensely proud of the progress made between London and the West Midlands throughout 2023. There will be no let-up in delivery in 2024.
“The transition in our focus towards railway systems represents another significant milestone and will edge us ever closer towards bringing this transformational project to life.”
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