I would like to update the House on the progress of High Speed Two.

Phase One of the railway - from London to West Midlands - is progressing well. In February 2017, Parliament granted powers to construct the route from London to Birmingham, including new stations at London Euston, Old Oak Common, Birmingham Curzon Street and Birmingham Interchange, near Solihull. As a result, enabling works on the route, contracts for which were awarded last November, have now started.

In March last year, the tender shortlist for Phase One of the main civil engineering works contracts, comprising bridges, tunnels, embankments and viaducts, was released. These are the biggest HS2 contracts to date. In a clear signal of how work is progressing, this morning I am pleased to announce the decision to award Stage 1 of these contracts, comprising design and construction preparation works, to the joint ventures set out below. Contracts are expected to be signed after completion of the mandatory standstill period. The joint ventures are as follows:

Area South S1: Euston Tunnels and Approaches – SCS JV (Skanska Construction UK Ltd , Costain Ltd , STRABAG AG ) S2: Northolt Tunnels – SCS JV (Skanska Construction UK Ltd , Costain Ltd , STRABAG AG )

Area Central C1: Chiltern Tunnels and Colne Valley Viaduct – Align JV (Bouygues Travaux Publics, VolkerFitzpatrick, Sir Robert McAlpine) C2: North Portal Chiltern Tunnels to Brackley – CEK JV (Carillion Construction Ltd , Eiffage Genie Civil SA , Kier Infrastructure and Overseas Ltd ) C3: Brackley to South Portal of Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel – CEK JV (Carillion Construction Ltd , Eiffage Genie Civil SA , Kier Infrastructure and Overseas Ltd )

Area North N1: Long Itchington Wood Green Tunnel to Delta Junction and Birmingham Spur – BBV JV (Balfour Beatty Group Ltd , VINCI Construction Grands Projets, VINCI Construction UK Ltd , VINCI Construction Terrassement) N2: Delta Junction to WCML Tie-In – BBV JV (Balfour Beatty Group Ltd , VINCI Construction Grands Projets, VINCI Construction UK Ltd , VINCI Construction Terrassement)



The expected total value of these contracts including both Stage 1 and Stage 2 (the full construction phase) is currently estimated to be worth £6.6 billion. Stage 2 will commence in 2019 and, along with Stage 1, is expected to support 16,000 jobs across the country. In addition, they are expected to generate 7,000 contract opportunities in the supply chain, of which around 60% are expected to go to SMEs .

HS2 stations at Euston, Old Oak Common and in Birmingham will be central to HS2 and the work needed to develop designs is also well underway. Last week, both the invitations to tender ( ITTs ) for the station design services contracts for all 4 Phase One stations and the invitation to participate in dialogue ( ITPD ) for a Euston Master Development Partner were released to shortlisted bidders. These are significant milestones. They show how progress is continuing at pace in order to deliver stations that will be embraced by the local communities, drive economic growth and provide seamless journeys for passengers.

We are also making good progress on the rest of the route. Later today, I will be introducing a Bill to Parliament seeking the necessary powers to construct Phase 2a of HS2 , from West Midlands to Crewe. Phase 2a will bring HS2 within reach of all the cities in the north that have existing rail connections to Crewe. I will also be updating the House on other developments along the Phase Two route including decisions on the Phase 2b route from Crewe to Manchester and West Midlands to Leeds.

The progress we are making with HS2 is clear evidence that the government is delivering on its commitments and is getting on with building the infrastructure needed to build a stronger, fairer, more prosperous Britain.