HS2 makes steady progress a year after Royal Assent
A year after HS2 Phase 1 from London to Birmingham was granted Royal Assent (on February 26 2017), the Department for Transport has reported on the progress being made on the new railway.
The National College for High Speed Rail has opened, and enabling works are under way along the line of route. These works include archaeological digs, environmental mitigation efforts, site clearance and utility works. Various funds for local communities, road safety and woodlands have been launched, and contracts awarded for major civil engineering and station design.
HS2 Minister Nusrat Ghani said: “One year on from Royal Assent we are making real progress, with significant contracts boosting jobs and prosperity while we ensure the new railway is not limited to providing faster, better journeys for passengers, but leaves a lasting legacy of improvements along the route for generations to come.”
HS2 Chief Executive Mark Thurston added: “As construction work continues to ramp up, we remain acutely aware of our responsibilities to those communities that we impact. Minimising disruption is at the heart of our design, while we retain our aim of creating a ‘green corridor’ consisting of new woodland, wildlife habitats and new amenity facilities to leave a legacy of high-quality green spaces all along the route, including the planting of seven million trees.”