Tender for city station restarted after setback
HS2 is set to restart the bid to find a contractor to build its new station in Birmingham city centre.
The government body behind the new high-speed rail line has cancelled the tender process launched last year following feedback from the construction industry about the shared risk of the £435 million project.
It has now placed a fresh tender notice online to find a design and build contractor in a move it said was about reducing contractor risk and increasing competition.
Concept designs for the new station in Curzon Street, created by engineering consultancy WSP with Grimshaw Architects and Birmingham practice Glenn Howells Architects, were revealed last October and followed a few weeks later by the tender launch.
Workers have been on site for several months, preparing the ground for the start of construction.
The station and the ‘Interchange’ site in Solihull are due to start welcoming high-speed services between Birmingham and London from 2026.
A statement from HS2 said: “We are currently revising our approach to the appointment of our construction team for Birmingham Curzon Street.
“Taking more time now will help us deliver contracts which, in the long term, deliver best value for HS2, the taxpayer and our future contractor.
“Our extensive early works programme is making strong progress, with more than 9,000 jobs already supported across our UK wide supply chain.
“This includes work currently under way at Curzon Street and our other stations as well as our pioneering ‘green corridor’ and archaeology programmes,” the company added.
The new tender process is due to start later this year and a HS2 spokesman insisted awarding of the contract would go ahead next spring as originally planned.
HS2 is hosting an event on July 19 at Birmingham City University to meet with industry to discuss the new approach.