We are working on the scheme as part of Align, our joint venture with international infrastructure specialists Bouygues Travaux Publics and VolkerFitzpatrick, which has been contracted to deliver the HS2 Central 1 (C1) package.

C1 consists of 21.6km of high-speed rail infrastructure including a 3.37km viaduct, 16.04km twin-bored tunnel and five vent shafts handling both intervention and tunnel ventilation facilities.

Significant work has already started at Align’s main site, the South Portal, which is located to the West of London just inside the M25 and covers 136 acres.

Dedicated motorway slip-roads have been built to link the new site with the M25 and take construction traffic off local roads. As you can see from the pictures, excavation is already well under way of the launch site from which two 2,000 tonne, 170m long tunnel boring machines will start their journey under the M25, excavating the twin bore Chilterns tunnel through Buckinghamshire.

Work is also under way on the construction of a concrete precast plant where the 118,000 tunnel segments, each weighing on average 8.5 tonnes, will be made.

Spoil from the tunnels will be pumped as slurry back to a treatment plant, also currently under construction, where it will be treated before it is used for landscaping on-site.

Just south of the main site will stand the Colne Valley Viaduct, which will be the longest railway viaduct in the UK at 3.4km long. It will carry HS2 across the Grand Union Canal and surrounding lakes. The 1,000 segments required for the viaduct will also be made on site at the South Portal and a separate batching plant is under construction.

Find out more about HS2

HS2 Colne Valley Viaduct wins design award

26 Nov 2024

Colne Valley Viaduct named winner in the 'engineering' category  of the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust’s Building Beauty Awards - 2024 

Last segment of Colne Valley Viaduct installed

06 Sept 2024

The Colne Valley Viaduct becomes Britain's longest rail bridge after Align JV reaches this major milestone for HS2.

Sector profile: Mike Hickson, Managing Director of Defence

01 Jul 2024

Mike Hickson, Sir Robert McAlpine’s newly appointed Managing Director of Defence, shares his vision for the sector and his ambitions for the year ahead.

Stamp it Out briefing

24 Mar 2025

The Stamp it Out briefing, chaired by our Managing Director of Transport, Vip Gandhi, along with Safer Highways CEO, Kevin Robinson, received a ministerial seal of approval at a special Summit held in London

London Museum work experience

20 Mar 2025

Local students benefit from partnership working to gain insights into the world of construction.

Reducing carbon emissions at TQA1

17 Mar 2025

Early collaboration in the design stage and engagement with supply chain enlable Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus to achieve a 25% reduction in embodied carbon.

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Work progressing on HS2