Shortlisted candidates revealed for HS2’s ‘nerve centre’ and depot

HS2 Ltd today (9 September 2021) confirmed the shortlist of bidders in the running to build the high-speed rail project’s network control centre and rolling stock maintenance depot, which will create around 500 long-term jobs in Birmingham’s Washwood Heath.

The contract, worth an estimated £275 million, will see the winning bidder work with HS2 Ltd to transform the 30-hectare brown field site into the nerve centre of the HS2 network.

The following bidders will be invited to tender:

• GÜLERMAK AĞIR SAN. İNŞAAT VE TAAH. A.Ş & Gulermak Sp z o.o.
• VINCI Construction UK Limited (t/a Taylor Woodrow) & Keltbray Limited
• VolkerFitzpatrick Ltd & VolkerRail Ltd

HS2’s fleet of state-of-the-art high-speed trains will be serviced and maintained, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, from the Washwood Heath site. The trains will be ready to provide an unparalleled level of frequency and reliability for passengers across the UK.

The depot will include a rolling stock maintenance building, carriage wash, automatic vehicle inspection building and 14 sidings where trains can be stored overnight.

Also on the same site will be the Network Integrated Control Centre, the centre of the network’s state-of-the-art signalling and control systems, as well as office buildings for cleaners and drivers. In total, around 500 jobs are expected to be based across both the depot and control centre.

Andrew Cubitt, HS2 Ltd’s Procurement and Supply Chain Director, said: “HS2 will transform rail travel across the UK, as a brand-new North to South railway offering passengers fast, reliable, low carbon journeys between many of Britain’s largest cities.

“Washwood Heath will be at the heart of the operation, servicing and maintaining the trains, as well as controlling the operations. The site will also be a major boost for the local community, with around 500 long-term jobs set to be created at the site and extra land freed up for development. That’s why it’s great to see such a strong shortlist for the design and construction.”

The Washwood Heath site was formerly home to the disused Metro-Cammell railway works which closed back in 2004. A team from HS2’s enabling works contractor Laing Murphy (LM), completed the demolition of the buildings on the site in 2020, ready for the start of construction.

Once operational, Phase One and ‘2a’ will have a fleet of at least 54 trains, which will be based at Washwood Heath. These 200m long units can be doubled up to create 400m long trains and will serve destinations beyond the HS2 network such as: Liverpool, Preston, Carlisle, and Glasgow, all via a connection to the existing West Coast Main Line at Crewe.

Contracts are expected to be awarded in 2023.