Will HS2 Be a Civil Engineering Success?

Over budget, behind schedule and causing concern at every turn, does High Speed 2 or HS2 as its commonly known, have a future?

HS2 is one of the most exciting and demanding civil engineering projects in Europe. The new HS2 route train line is designed to provide reliable, frequent, and fast connections between eight out of the ten most prominent cities in Britain: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, London, and Birmingham.

Many students study Civil Engineering courses because they dream about working on projects like this. However, with several roadblocks along the way, many people are wondering whether HS2 will be a civil engineering success.

The current status of HS2

The first phase of the project, Phase 1, is planned to run between London and Birmingham. It was scheduled to open in 2026 initially, but this has been pushed back considerably. In fact, HS2 Ltd released a report that indicated that this could be pushed back to 2031.

The current Civil Engineering and architecture plans of the HS2 construction has incorporated a second Y-shape phase, launched in two stages. The first part, Phase 2a, will go from West Midlands to Crewe. This will be followed by Phase 2b, which will run from Crewe to Manchester and Birmingham to Leeds.

The second part of the HS2 project was expected to open by 2033. However, due to the delays with Phase 1, this is likely to be pushed back to a date between 2035 and 2040.