FRENCH National Railways (SNCF) announced on April 25 that it is bidding jointly with Virgin and Stagecoach for Britain’s West Coast Partnership (WCP) franchise, which encompasses inter-city services on the West Coast Main Line and the initial phase of operations on High-Speed 2 (HS2).
THE first phase of High-Speed 2 cleared its final legal hurdle on February 23 when the Hybrid Bill authorising construction received Royal Assent, becoming an Act of Parliament.
BRITAIN’s second high-speed rail venture HS2 took a step forward on February 9 as it confirmed that contracts will be awarded to CH2M, Arup, an Aecom/Capita/Ineco joint venture, and a Mott MacDonald/WSP joint venture to help progress the design of Phase 2B from Crewe to Manchester and Lichfield to Leeds.
TRENITALIA and First Group have joined forces to bid for two British passenger rail franchises - East Midlands and West Coast Partnership - which are due to be awarded in 2018.
PROCUREMENT of a fleet of up to 60 trains for High Speed 2 (HS2) will be officially launched today by Britain’s secretary of state for transport Mr Chris Grayling.
BRITAIN’s secretary of state for transport Mr Chris Grayling announced on November 15 that the government has finalised its preferred route for most of Phase 2b of High-Speed 2 (HS2), which will extend the line to the East Midlands and Northern England in the early 2030s.
BRITAIN’s Department for Transport (DfT) confirmed on November 4 that services on the initial London - Birmingham phase of High Speed 2 (HS2) will be included in the forthcoming Inter City West Coast (ICWC) franchise, which is due to start in 2019.
PROPOSALS for major alterations to the route of the second phase of the high-speed network linking London with central and northern England were unveiled on July 7 by the chairman of HS2 Ltd Sir David Higgins.
THE new West Midlands Combined Authority centred on Birmingham, Britain, is drawing up plans through Transport for West Midlands, which comes into force this month, to expand the rail network under a £4bn 10-year transport investment plan.
CONSTRUCTION of Britain's National College for High Speed Rail commenced on May 9 following groundbreaking ceremonies held at sites in Doncaster and Birmingham.