‘Worth the wait’: HS2 points to Birmingham progress as reset takes shape
The planned reboot of the nation’s flagship high-speed rail line project is ‘very nearly ready’, according to HS2 chief executive Mark Wild.
Last week, engineers signed off the construction of four parallel viaducts being built at Coleshill in Warwickshire, set to form part the huge Delta Junction which will connect Birmingham’s Curzon Street station with the main HS2 line.
Completion of the Coleshill viaducts was one of a number of key milestones for the project which have been completed over the past 12 months, with Wild saying project teams on the ground were “getting on with the job” while final cost and timing estimates for the railway were being worked on.
However, significant work still lies ahead for the scheme, with just two of a planned 52 viaducts completed, and 150 of the project’s 169 bridges still to be finished.
An updated programme for the railway is expected to be issued to government in the spring, after a review carried out last year confirmed an anticipated deadline for opening the railway of 2033 was now impossible.
HS2 has completed deck assembly work for its Coleshill viaducts. Credit: HS2
“This reset has to be right – I’ve spent the past year with colleagues working diligently through all of the scope, all of the items and activities into the correct order. It’s worth the wait because this reset will be the one that gets us to the end of the job,” said Wild, speaking in his most recent project update.
“It’s not complete but we’re very nearly there.
“2025 was a good year, a productive year. We achieved many notable milestones, we completed the Colne Valley Viaduct, Britain’s longest railway bridge, we completed all of the tunnelling between old oak common and Birmingham Curzon Street, and of course worked on many, many other bridges and structures. Hopefully when people drive past our sites they can see the visible changes that are occurring.
“We also pushed the Curzon two bridge into place in Birmingham, changing the skyline of Birmingham forever and a real visible symbol that we’re getting on with this job and we’re being productive and every single day the railway becomes more of a reality.
“I’m really energised, passionate and committed to delivering this job, which is why we’re resetting it, breaking the cycle of continuous cost increases and bad news on time and delays.”
Wild also praised the government’s updated funding settlement for the project, announced in last year’s budget, thought to be worth around £25bn over the next four years.
Wild said the new deal would help HS2 to plan for the long term and focus resources where they’re most needed, and give the project the “financial stability” to complete its programme of civil engineering and the stations work.
Last year, HS2 announced it would suspend work on several major sites in order to concentrate on a 50 mile section of track between Washwood Heath and Wendover Green, which would allow it to commence testing on power, signalling and communications systems – as well as the new rolling stock – while the rest of the line is built.
