Construction group Laing O'Rourke has won the £370 million brief to build the new HS2 Interchange station in Solihull. The company will now work with the team behind the high-speed rail line in two stages to finalise the detailed design and then build the station.
Interchange will be constructed on land 1.2 miles east of Birmingham Airport next to the M42 and will be connected to the airport, Birmingham International station and the NEC campus via a new automated people mover. Contracts will be signed after the completion of the standstill period.
It is one of four new stations to be developed as part of the first phase of HS2 between Birmingham and London - the others being at Euston and Old Oak Common in the capital and in Curzon Street in Birmingham city centre. The appointment of Laing O'Rourke comes as developers announced yesterday that a new planning application had been submitted for the car parks which will serve the new station, offering up to 7,000 new spaces.
READ MORE: Plans in for new HS2 station car parks
Andrew Cubitt, HS2's procurement and supply chain director, said: "Congratulations to Laing O'Rourke who will be awarded this significant HS2 contract which will not only unlock many jobs and business opportunities in the Midlands but also provide hundreds of supply chain contracts for companies right across the country."
Modular bridges over the M42 and A446 have already been built as part of a remodelled road network in the area to facilitate access to the new station and main works contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI is currently preparing the site where the new station will be built. There will be up to five trains per hour passing through Interchange in both directions, with an estimated total of 175,000 seats per day.
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The station is included in the £3.2 billion Arden Cross scheme which covers 346 acres of land at the same site and is set to create new commercial, leisure, education, medical and technology space alongside up to 3,000 houses.
HS2's stations director Lee Holmes added: "It's fantastic to have Laing O'Rourke ready to build our new HS2 station in Solihull at the heart of the HS2 network. So far, we've worked with Arup to develop an award-winning, eco-friendly station and now look forward to starting the next phase of design before construction starts next year.
"The station has been designed to be net zero in operation, which is a key part of HS2's strategy to reduce carbon and our ambition to build the most sustainable railway in the world."
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