Capita Symonds and Ineco have formed a joint venture to bid for contracts on the government’s proposed High Speed 2 (HS2) project.
The move follows the recent announcement by Philip Hammond, the Secretary of State for Transport, signalling the start of the procurement process for a development partner and for external contractors to assist in the engineering and environmental work for the £32bn scheme which comprises a high speed rail line between London, the Midlands and the north of England.
However, it also follows a damming report from the Conservative Party’s Transport Group this week, which says HS2 is “fundamentally flawed… and is on the wrong route and ends up in the wrong places.”
The Group says the line should connect into a hub at Heathrow Airport shared with London Underground and the national railway network.
Ineco claims to be Spain’s leading engineering consultancy, has been responsible for the development of 6000km of high speed line in Spain.Capita Symonds designed the Royal Oak and Woolwich and Plumstead portals on the Crossrail scheme – the biggest construction project in Europe. The company has also worked on a number of other major transport infrastructure projects including the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system in Delhi and the Øresund Tunnel between Denmark and Sweden.
Tim Healey, Director of Civil Engineering at Capita Symonds said: “I am delighted that we are able to build on our 30 years of experience in the rail industry and most recently our successful design delivery for London’s Crossrail schemes. Our links with Ineco will further develop our offer to provide High Speed 2 with a team that has successfully delivered the most extensive high speed rail network in Europe at the lowest cost per route kilometre in anywhere in the world.”
