HS2 Ltd is working with suppliers to analyse the impact of last week’s cancellation of phase two of the high-speed rail link – having already signed hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of contracts to make it happen.
In the last seven months alone, the Department for Transport-owned company has signed contracts and framework agreements worth upwards of £600m relating to construction of the now-scrapped parts of the project.
It is expected to make a statement to parliament in the coming weeks about the implications for its supply chain and budget of Rishi Sunak's announcement that plans to extend HS2 to Manchester and the East Midlands will not go ahead.
HS2 Ltd signed off on £300m worth of framework agreements for groundwork investigation along the phase-two route in September – a month before Rishi Sunak put an abrupt end to the project, which would have extended the high-speed rail link to Manchester.
An £85m framework agreement went to the US-based infrastructure consulting firm AECOM Ltd to conduct ground investigations for phase two over the next eight years.
A second lot, worth up to £215m, was split between eight contractors: BAM Ritchies, Fugro GeoServices Ltd, Geotechnical Engineering Ltd, RPS Group Ltd, SOCOTEC UK Ltd, Soil Engineering Geoservices Ltd, Strata Geotechnics and Structural Soils Ltd.
Both agreements were signed on 7 September and were set to run until 2031. The agreements set out terms and conditions for future contracts, up to the total agreed value.