High Speed 2 is a proposed High Speed Railway between London and Birmingham, and the North of England. This could be extended to Scotland at a later date. A company called High Speed 2 Limited has been established by the British government to develop the project, which is an extension to the original High Speed 1 project (also known as the Channel tunnel Rail Link) completed in 2007.

In December 2010 the Government published a proposed route for HS2 and put it out to Public Consultation which is due to draw to a close in the summer of 2011. If the HS2 plan is approved, construction could begin in 2017 with the first trains by 2025. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government formed in May 2010 stated in its initial programme for government its commitment to creating a high-speed rail network.

The Matchtech Rail division are currently tracking this project very closely. We expect to play a significant role in supplying relevant skilled resource to the HS2 project, given our proven experience on the original CTRL project and similar schemes such as Crossrail, where we have been one of the leading technical recruitment suppliers. Regular project updates will be posted on the Matchtech Rail Division page on Social Networking sites Linked-IN and Twitter. Please also keep in touch with our experienced Rail Consultants on 01489 898130 to obtain regular updates on upcoming opportunities.

Jobs
High Speed 2 is in its infancy but has received a positive response to this summer's Public Consultation and has a great deal of political backing. We are working with a large number of organisations who are expecting to be involved in the design and delivery of this high profile project and look forward to bringing project related vacancies to market in the next 12-18 months. Given the size and scope of the project, we expect HS2 to provide significant opportunity both on a permanent and contract basis.