Andrew Jones MP visited HS2 Birmingham sites to view progress and the potential opportunities presented in the city by the high-speed rail.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport Andrew Jones MP visited key sites for HS2 Birmingham and discussed the opportunities that the sites will present. Work on the sites is well underway, including building demolition and archaeology work to reveal Birmingham’s history.

Sites include a major maintenance depot at Washwood Heath and a city centre train station at Curzon Street. The Curzon Street site spans 250,000 square metres and has generated 20,000 tonnes of concrete which will be recycled into new building work.

Andrew Jones MP said: “HS2 is an incredible project that will transform our railway network, boosting capacity on our busiest lines, better connecting Birmingham with large cities across the country and building the Midlands Engine.”

“The scale of works happening in Birmingham show the huge progress being made on HS2; they also show first-hand the fantastic jobs and opportunities HS2 is providing people across the country; I cannot wait to see the results of further construction, and for this vital railway to become a reality.”

Two buildings are being demolished at the site of the former Unite student accommodation on Curzon st which covers an area of 3,000 square metres. This will yield around 30,000 tonnes of material, with works being undertaken by the Birmingham-based demolitions firm, DSM.

The immense old site of the Alstom Rail Depot is 110,282 square metres and will yield 412,000 tonnes of material that will be recycled into the new depot. It is expected that the depot will provide 500 new jobs for local people.

Other works include ecological habitat creation and route clearance as well as further building demolition. Andrew Jones MP was met with representatives from the City and HS2 Ltd. while being shown around the two sites to assess how they will affect the local community.

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