Arcadis has announced that it is to provide design and programme management services to the Taylor Woodrow and Aureos Rail (TWA) Joint Venture in support of the delivery of the recently announced High Speed 2 (HS2) rolling stock depot and Network Integrated Control Centre (NICC) at Washwood Heath, Birmingham, UK.

The programme is expected to create around 500 construction jobs during the building phase and approximately a thousand permanent jobs once completed, with the new 30-hectare Washwood Heath campus providing railway systems, rolling stock maintenance, automatic vehicle inspection,, sidings and a test track for the for the high-speed trains.

The award is valued at more than €90M for Arcadis.

Washwood Heath will be the sole depot for the servicing and maintenance of the new fleet of trains which will run from London to Birmingham and potentially on to other destinations across the UK. HS2 will provide capacity on the rail network and economic growth to areas served by the high-speed services. Research carried out by Arcadis for HS2 Ltd showed that the high-speed network would deliver billions of pounds in economic growth and enhanced investment in the UK.

Arcadis will act as the design consultant to TWA, and includes integrated design delivery, assurance, governance, risk and change support, and ongoing design support to construction, all aligned with HS2’s enhanced delivery, audit and assurance requirements.

Heather Polinsky, CEO, Arcadis said: “This contract award will see the regeneration of a neglected part of one of the UK’s major cities and brings significant social value to the area, providing both temporary and high-skilled jobs, and associated economic benefits to the local community.”

“This is our third major role in the new HS2 railway following our work designing 80km of line across the route, and our work designing the new Curzon Street station in Birmingham which is testament to the knowledge, experience and expertise that Arcadis provides to our clients on major infrastructure projects.”

Work on the contract is expected to start immediately and continue until 2033.