There HS2 It represents an important infrastructure project, currently under construction in the United Kingdom. Consists of one high -speed railway networkable to make the transport of goods, people and resources faster and more functional. Will connect London with the main cities of the North, including Birmingham. It will be the second line of this type in the United Kingdom, after the High Speed 1 that connects London to sleeve tunnel. However, it is a project that, however revolutionary, has given rise to many issues and debates because of the engineering challenges and high costs.
The High Speed 2 project, the high -speed railway line
Certainly the realization of HS2 represents a gigantic work, full of challenges for designers. As for the section, the HS2 connects the station of London Euston (or Old Oak Common) a Birmingham Curzon Streetwith a branch for a further station a Birmingham Interlying. The opening of the Old Oak Common -West Midlands route is expected between 2029 and 2033with the connection to Euston later (between 2031 and 2035). A second route is the one that connects Birmingham to Crewe. To date, the realization of this route is still being completed, with the progress of the works that stands around 30%.
In the project the realization of a third route, to be made from scratch. Which would have connected the latest Birmingham station to Leeds, but was canceled in 2021. The same speech for the western section, for Manchester. This last route has also been canceled. At the current state of the project, the trains will reach the north of the United Kingdom using the railway lines already in place.
The major challenges of the HS2 railway in Great Britain
The realization of the HS2 has requested, and continues to request, the use of expert designers in the most disparate fields, as the environments that it will go through are manifold, all different, and which require infrastructure elements and very different engineering solutions.
The HS2 provides, for example, the creation of multiple galleries, such as the Gallery of Chiltern (Chiltern Tunnel). This, the longest of the entire project (16 km), was excavated with the use of TBM even 170 meters long. The railway convoys will enter the city of London, crosses double -way galleries, such as the Euston Gallery (who will connect Euston to Old Oak Common) and the Northolt gallery. The project counts a total of 64 km of galleries that, to date, have been excavated for 80%.
The HS2 also involves the realization of multiple viaducts. First of all the COLne Valley viaductwhich with its 3.4 km, will be the longest viaduct of the United Kingdom. Built on shallow foundations, the structure, at the design level, to integrate perfectly with the regional park where this will rise.
Critical aspects of the project
Let’s see now what the most critical aspects of this project have been, which have given birth to important debates and also contestations. First of all, a budget problem necessary for the realization of the project. According to the most recent analyzes, the first route, the one that connects London to Birghingam, has reached a total cost that oscillates among the 56 and 59 billion euros.
Even the cancellation of the two sections, towards Leeds and Manchester, represented a reason for heated debate and criticism, even making public opinion about the actual usefulness of the work. The crossing of natural areas and ancient woods has led to important and profound criticism by local communities and environmentalists.
