The TWA joint venture, formed by Taylor Woodrow Infrastructure and Aureos Rail, has won the contract for the construction of the HS2 depot and control centre located on a brownfield industrial site in Birmingham. As part of the project, the industrial area will be transformed into a major new business and logistics hub, supporting more than a thousand jobs.
The contract is worth approximately EUR 991 million (GBP 856 million) and will enable the joint venture to work with HS2 Ltd on the redevelopment of the 70-hectare disused site of the former LDV and Metro-Cammell works in Washwood Heath.
The new depot will cover around 30 hectares and will include a state-of-the-art rolling stock maintenance building, a train washing facility, an automatic vehicle inspection building and sidings where high-speed trains can be stabled overnight, as well as a test track.
The Network Integrated Control Centre (NICC) will also be built on the same site, where staff will manage train dispatching, communicate with drivers and ensure the smooth running of services.
Separate buildings will house offices and facilities for cleaning staff and drivers. The remaining area will be allocated for commercial development and the creation of new green spaces and wildlife habitats.
According to 2021 Census data, Washwood Heath is among the most deprived areas in the United Kingdom, with around 77% of households experiencing deprivation in at least one social or economic dimension.
The new depot will create significant highly skilled employment opportunities, with around 1,000 permanent jobs expected at the site, in addition to approximately 500 temporary construction roles.
Thousands of jobs and economic growth
The award of the contract for the HS2 depot and control centre highlights the scale of progress currently being made on HS2 as the programme undergoes a major reset to ensure efficient delivery at the lowest reasonable cost. Mark Wild, Chief Executive of HS2 Ltd, is currently leading the restructuring of the project to ensure the remainder of the route is delivered as efficiently as possible and at the lowest reasonable cost.
Prior to the contract award, HS2 Ltd’s readiness to proceed with the project and its contract management capability were assessed by Mark Wild and an independent review panel, reflecting lessons learned from the main civil engineering contracts, James Stewart’s review of HS2 governance and the experience gained from the Crossrail project.
“Washwood Heath and the wider HS2 programme will create thousands of jobs across the West Midlands – from the construction teams transforming this former industrial site to the skilled workforce that will operate this modern facility for decades to come. Together, they will help deliver faster and more reliable rail journeys across the country,” said Peter Hendy, UK Rail Minister.
A recent study showed that the arrival of HS2 is already driving economic growth in the West Midlands, with a £10 billion (EUR 11.6 billion) economic uplift expected around the project’s two major stations and the depot over the next ten years.
The Washwood Heath site – located alongside the A47 Heartlands Parkway and the existing railway network – was a centre of railway manufacturing for more than a century. The Pendolino trains currently operated by Avanti West Coast between London and Birmingham were among the last trains built on the site before it closed in 2005.
The contract requires the TWA JV to work closely with HS2 Ltd and the rail operator to finalise the project requirements and design before proceeding with construction, testing and commissioning of the depot.
The partners have extensive experience in delivering similarly complex infrastructure projects in the UK and Europe, including Kings Cross and Whitechapel stations, the Elizabeth Line depot and the Old Oak Common station as part of HS2. Together, they employ more than 3,000 people across the UK.
HS2’s construction partner in the West Midlands, Balfour Beatty VINCI (BBV), has already made significant progress at Washwood Heath by demolishing the disused industrial buildings and remediating land contaminated by more than a century of heavy industrial activity, preparing the site for the start of construction.
Along the northern edge of the site, BBV engineers recently completed a 750-metre retained cutting that will allow trains to enter the Bromford Tunnel as they leave Birmingham. Excavation of the 3.5-mile (5.6 km) tunnel was completed last year, with teams now focusing on the internal concrete works and cross passages.
Work is also progressing on the western side of the site, where BBV is building a series of viaducts that will carry services into the new Curzon Street station in the city centre.
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