Design, Engineering and Architecture
This theme covers the technical design, engineering and architecture for the HS2 Programme
Design, Engineering and Architecture Resources
Resources include papers, videos, research summaries and good practice documents produced by authors from across the HS2 Family to capture learning, good practice and innovation from the HS2 programme
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HS2 project creates and updates British Standards and guidance to improve delivery
Inefficient and inconsistent use of codes, standards and guidance documents can hamper effective delivery of infrastructure projects. Colin Rawlings of CH2M/High Speed Two Ltd (HS2) summarises initiatives taken on the project to deliver new and updated standards and guidance.
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Birmingham Curzon Street Station: A 21st Century Station Roof
Birmingham Curzon Street Station is the planned new northern terminus for Phase One of High Speed Two (HS2), located in the city centre of Birmingham. The Curzon Street Station roof is defined by its efficiency, simplicity and elegance, measuring 280m long by 80m wide and with a clear span of 70m metres over the station’s…
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Technical evidence for a non-technical audience
This paper shares experience of technical evidence production as part of the High Speed Two (HS2) Phase 2a project, which led to successful outcomes for the Promoter at House of Commons Select Committee petition hearings. The learning and observations contained within will be relevant to any projects implementing hybrid Bills but also more generally by…
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Using Train-Borne Lidar to improve design confidence in railway electrification
The Midland Main Line needs to be remodelled and electrified to accommodate High Speed Two (HS2) train services to Sheffield. This paper addresses how the issue of site surveys, to accurately judge the level of intervention required for the system design, without site access, was solved. Detailed measurements were required on the 26km route, which…
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Soils, Landscape and Woodland: How HS2 is using integrated asset information management in a BIM environment.
High Speed Two (HS2) is delivering a new environmental framework alongside the railway infrastructure; creating landscape plantings sites and new ecological habitats and features in advance of the main construction works. Before it comes into operation, Phase One of the HS2 Project intends to create around 650 hectares of new woodlands, to provide new habitats,…
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Design of shafts and tunnels to decouple the construction programme
High Speed Two (HS2) Phase One includes the design and construction of six ventilation shafts in Lot S1 (Canterbury Works and Adelaide Road vent shafts) and in Lot S2 (South Ruislip, Mandeville Road, Greenpark Way and Westgate vent shafts). The Scheme Design started with a value engineering exercise; Two key drivers were to minimise disruption…
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Overcoming the challenges associated with the design of noise barriers for High-Speed Railways
Noise barriers on high-speed lines have attracted significant attention in recent years due to concerns over performance in use. Lightweight barriers have been damaged by bird strike, train aerodynamic pressures have led to some early fatigue failures and materials selection with limited durability have led to unexpected maintenance costs. This paper presents the results of…
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Special segment design for cross passages and shaft passages
Operational considerations for the High Speed Two (HS2) TBM twin tunnels require cross passage connections and ventilation openings that are critical for not only the safe operation but also for the construction process. Conventionally, temporary support is used to ensure the stability of these openings in the tunnel lining. The use of special segments reduces…
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Shallow TBM launch of the Northolt Tunnel West TBMs at West Ruislip
Launching tunnel boring machines (TBMs) from a station box or launch shaft is a delicate operation that requires careful planning to maintain safety. Seven TBMs excavate the tunnels on HS2 Phase Onethe southern section of the High Speed Two (HS2) Phase One route Lots S1 and S2 tunnels and will bore an approximately 23km twin…
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Train fire spalling risk assessment
Structural fire protection is provided to structures where necesssary to ensure the resilience of the structure in the event of a fire. Loss of material strength at high temperature and spalling of concrete can lead to structural damage and collapse if not adequately mitigated. However, provision of structural fire protection can add significant cost and…
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The slowest part of HS2 – The design of HS2 automated people mover
The HS2 Automated People Mover (APM) provides the link between the new Interchange Station and existing local infrastructure of the NEC, Birmingham International Railway Station and Birmingham Airport. The system therefore provides a key piece of the connectivity of HS2 to the region. Located on an elevated viaduct, the APM is also unique amongst the…
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Temporary access road optioneering and cost analysis
High Speed Two (HS2) Lots C2 and C3 covers a section approximately 80km long between the Chilterns and Warwickshire. To enable construction of these sections, it was identified that a temporary service road would be required along the length of the HS2 route. An optioneering study was commissioned aiming to reduce construction costs of this…
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Design of Chiltern Tunnel South Portal
The tunnel portal structures to each end of the Chiltern Tunnel are the first example of high-speed rail porous portal structures in the UK. Porous portals exist in other countries (e.g. Japan and France) but not to the scale of those required for the Chiltern Tunnels. The primary purpose of the porous portals is to…
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Integrated design development of the Colne Valley Viaduct
The Colne Valley Viaduct, a 3.4km structure, will be the longest railway viaduct in the UK and has been designed to meet demanding technical, environmental and operational requirements. A key challenge for the multi-disciplinary integrated team has been to balance these requirements with the needs and aspirations of the client and local community stakeholders for…
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Design of Chiltern Tunnel and ventilation shaft interfaces
The Chiltern Tunnel will be the longest tunnel on Phase One of High Speed Two (HS2). As part of the safety systems it is necessary to be able to provide forced ventilation for smoke control as well as intervention access for emergency services. As a result, five shafts are required along the alignment of the…
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Design optimisation and challenges with the deepest shaft on HS2
This paper describes the design development of the deepest ventilation shaft along the C1 alignment - Chalfont St Peter Ventilation Shaft. The developed design solution was a 17.8m internal diameter, 65m deep shaft constructed within Chalk strata using 1200mm thick, 78m deep diaphragm walls. The Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) forming the twin running tunnels are…
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Reducing the impact of diverting a 42-inch water main
High Speed Two (HS2) intersects utility company networks throughout its length. Utility works are an important factor when planning and carrying out infrastructure projects, and similar diversionary works are likely to be required during Phase Two of HS2. This paper seeks to share examples of good practice and lessons learnt in the design and construction…
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Predicting sound levels generated by jet fan ventilation systems in tunnels
The operation of jet fans to ventilate tunnels generates sound that propagates within the tunnels, and can be emitted to external locations, which may include noise-sensitive receptors. To achieve suitable predictions of noise impact, it is important to account for the propagation of sound inside tunnels, which is an engineering problem not addressed by current…
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Mathematical modelling of cross passage spacing in tunnels
Mathematical modelling of safety risk has a new resonance in the modern world. Government policy is driven by decisions based on current data, models of growth and impact of alternative risk mitigation strategies. In determining a way forward, comparisons are made of economic vs. safety benefit in the long term. Similar analysis has been undertaken…
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HS2 Interchange Station: An exemplar project for integrating safe by design principles
HS2 has set strategic goals in health and safety to create a railway designed, built and operated to world class standards creating a legacy of new and better standards in health and safety[1]. This paper details how the design of HS2 Interchange Station is a prime example of how Safe by Design principles[2] can be…
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Ground Heave in Deep Cuttings: Evolution From Generic to Specific Models to Enable Refinement of a Risk Management Strategy
The route of the UK’s High Speed Rail network traverses the hilly terrain of the south midlands of England on a low, flat, straight alignment. Creating this alignment requires the formation of deep excavations through hills and ridges formed from the local geology which includes argillaceous (clay) strata. The process of excavation removes significant weight…
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HS2 Interchange Station – Innovative Roof Design: An exemplary project on Integrated Design Team collaboration and the use of advanced Digital Workflows
The design of the roof at Interchange station embodies the HS2 Design Vision. It is both a conceptual response to its site’s rural context and a demonstration of how integrated design can achieve a solution that is visually elegant, cost effective, simple and safe to construct, that minimises both operational and embodied carbon and is…
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Minimising carbon emissions at HS2 Phase One Stations
The High Speed Two (HS2) Sustainability Policy sets out the programme’s ambition to build the most sustainable high-speed railway of its kind in the world. The Phase One stations are at the forefront of this ambition and will provide new transport hubs in both Birmingham and London. Phase One stations are tasked with achieving net…
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Rethinking inclusive public toilets for HS2: Research evaluation and design to set an exemplar standard and best practice to meet the needs of multiple user groups
High Speed two (HS2) believes that an inclusive design approach will make the network easier for everyone to use. The design of stations and rolling stock will be based around the people using them and developing a better understanding of users and their needs is therefore key to defining the best solutions and to informing…
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Bridging the gap between drainage design and BIM modelling
The design of the civil engineering works in High Speed Two (HS2) is a good example of what can be achieved when the Building Information Modelling (BIM) process is embraced. Central to the BIM process is a three-dimensional (3D) model that communicates the civil design to enable construction, asset management, operation and maintenance in a…
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Development of the Streethay Cutting Design: From Retained to Open Cut
Streethay Cutting is a 2.5km long cutting that lies approximately 1km to the east of Lichfield, Staffordshire. It is at the northern part of HS2 Phase One, beyond which the route continues north to Curborough where the route splits: the mainline interfaces with Phase Two; and a spur connects to the West Coast Mainline at…
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Managing uncertainty in ground conditions in design on a megaproject where ground investigation is highly variable
Ground conditions present one of the major areas of uncertainty and risk for High Speed Two (HS2) Phase One and have a significant impact on project affordability. The ability to effectively and appropriately manage ground risk in design in a consistent manner is complicated by the varying degrees of completeness of ground investigation which may…
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Colne Valley Viaduct – developing a successful specimen design
The High Speed Two (HS2) Phase One route passes through a diverse and continuously changing British landscape. Structures along the route should be designed and constructed to respond to this diversity, becoming harmonious, memorable and fitting additions to their sites. This is particularly true for the Colne Valley Viaduct, which due to its scale, visibility…
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Chiltern Tunnel cross passage durability design – response to challenges
The High Speed Two (HS2) Chiltern Tunnel will contain 40 cross passages (CPs), 38 of which are mined tunnels based on sprayed concrete lining (SCL) design. The Chiltern Tunnel and its cross passages are required to have a design life of 120 years, befitting of a structure of national significance. The 38 SCL cross passages…
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HS2 track alignment change process through collaboration
In every high-speed railway project, the track alignment is one of the most, if not the most, critical element of design. The alignment is the basis that the rest of the civil works design is based on, with any change potentially having a significant knock-on impact. Hence the creation of a holistic contract-wide change control…
