


HS2 couples with rail freight for the long haul
The UK’s ambitious HS2 high-speed rail project has for a long time been emphasising its credentials as a capacity enhancement for the British railway network. Now, HS2 Limited, the company formed by the government to...Read more
Rail removes one million tonnes of spoil for HS2
Rail freight partners at HS2, Britain’s high speed rail project, have lifted one million tonnes of spoil from its London rail logistics hub. That effort represents one fifth of the total tonnage anticipated throughout the...Read more
UK government update to Integrated Rail Plan receives cautious welcome
The Railway Industry Association (RIA) North has expressed a qualified welcome to the government’s response to the Transport Select Committee report on the 2021 Integrated Rail Plan for the North and Midlands (IRP), a comprehensive...Read more
British rail freight keeps HS2 on schedule at Old Oak Common
Two years into the project and ramping up to around 1.500 trains a year. Five freight services a day is the average service for the vast HS2 project, and nowhere is that more evident than...Read more
Ten million tons moved by rail HS2 and counting
The high-speed rail project HS2 reached the important milestone of moving ten million tonnes of construction materials by rail. The accomplishment is particularly important considering the project reached its target way ahead of its time,...Read more
HS2 pause means more than lost business for rail freight
The UK government has decided to slow down the building of the HS2 project. That pause, covering significant parts of the project, will inevitably have an impact on rail freight operations. The company formed to...Read more
West London Orbital freight line would connect Heathrow and HS2
Transport for London (TfL) has unveiled ambitious plans to massively upgrade a freight-only spur and rebrand it as the West London Orbital, a link that will connect Hounslow to Hendon and West Hampstead in the...Read more
HS2 launches 3rd London TBM and commits to zero road trucks
Britain’s high-speed rail project HS2 is all set for a third tunnel dig in London. The huge civil engineering project, initially building a new railway line between London and Birmingham, will run under the streets...Read more
HS2 and the rail freight part in moving construction materials
HS2 Limited, the company formed specifically to build the London-Birmingham railway, has made extensive use of rail freight support throughout its construction phase. To date, the operations have moved millions of tonnes of materials, to and from construction...Read more
Rail freight dismay at HS2 construction delay
Page after page has been submitted in a flurry of fury over the UK government decision to further delay the HS2 high speed rail project. Construction had already been extended, with elements of the project...Read more
Crucial rail junction in Scotland to close till mid-summer
Carstairs, where the West Coast Main Line branches to both Glasgow and Edinburgh, will close from this weekend for extensive remodelling. Scotland’s Railway, the authority in Scotland that works in partnership with infrastructure agency Network...Read more
HS2 acts on feedback over Manchester route design
HS2 Limited, the company formed to build Britain’s high speed railway line, is engaging local communities in Manchester to discuss proposed changes to its construction designs. They say the purpose is to reduce future flood...Read more
Moving UK’s logistics market to high-speed rail
There was added impetus to this week’s conference of stakeholders in Britain’s high-speed rail industry. There was much talk of the recent revelations that the London to Birmingham HS2 high-speed railway project would be subject...Read more
High Speed Two or Low Speed One for freight?
The upcoming review of Britain’s high-speed railway project could provide unexpected benefits for rail freight. The massive project to build a new line between London and Birmingham is to come under scrutiny again, as costs...Read more
HS2 not going to London Euston says report
HS2, Britain’s new high speed rail link, faces a massive blow to the prestige of the project. Reports in the UK claim that the line will no longer reach Euston in central London and will...Read more
Rail freight contributes to raising Birmingham’s first HS2 viaduct pier
Britain’s high-speed rail project, HS2, is taking shape in Birmingham. The first bridge pier on the 300 metres long Curzon Viaduct has been topped out and revealed to the city. The project managers have hailed...Read more
HS2 freight tracks laid in west London
Work has begun to lay freight tracks at West Ruislip, in the northwest of London, as HS2 moves into the peak of construction. The sidings are supporting the construction of the high-speed railway between London...Read more
HS2 begins work on Birmingham Curzon Viaduct
The company building Britain’s high-speed railway project, HS2 Limited, has revealed designs for the viaduct that will span the 150-metre section on final approach to Birmingham’s new Curzon Street Station. The bridge design features a...Read more
UK rail projects dodge the axe in Autumn Statement
This month’s UK chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, delivered a long and detailed budget last week. Although dubbed an “Autumn Statement”, the epic two-hour delivery found no voice for the rail industry. That has been largely considered...Read more