By Ashley Karen
HS2 Ltd has begun the analysis for a contractor to design and supply a transport system, plus a 25-year transport operation and asset maintenance contract, for the project’s Automated People Mover (APM) in the West Midlands.
An essential component of the HS2 project, the APM will transfer passengers and visitors between HS2’s Interchange Station, the NEC, Birmingham International rail station, and Birmingham Airport. It will deliver an efficient, accessible, reliable, and environmentally friendly mode of transport, moving up to 2,100 passengers per hour in each direction on a six-minute trip.
The APM will operate on an elevated 2.2km long viaduct and range in height from 6 meters to 14 meters, traveling the NEC, West Coast Main Line, and M42 Motorway. It will be finished in time for the commencement of services at HS2 Interchange Station.
Andrew Cubitt, HS2’s Procurement and Supply Chain Director, expressed: “We’re pleased to be starting the procurement process for the APM Systems Contract, which is worth up to £270m*. The APM is a vital piece of infrastructure in the HS2 project, connecting high speed rail passengers to the classic rail network, and supporting the shift from car use to public, mass transit transport, which is so important in achieving the UK’s target of net zero carbon.”
Selected companies will be asked to tender early next year, with the contract due to be rewarded towards the end of 2024.
The search for the APM Infrastructure contract will begin later this year, with invitations to tender in 2025 and contract award in 2026.
HS2’s Interchange Station will be the stimulus for massive growth programs in Solihull, making an economic transformation for the region. The station is at the center of the plans for the £3.2bn Arden Cross mixed-use commercial and residential destination, which will support up to 27,000 jobs and provide up to 3,000 homes and 557,500 m2 of commercial space.
This plan forms part of the Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council’s wider UK Central Hub area, which will provide 70,000 jobs, 8,000 homes, and 650,000m2 (7,000,000 sq ft) of commercial space, generating £6.2bn GVA per year and carrying 1.3m people in the region to within a 45-minute public transport commute of the station.
There will be up to five trains per hour passing through Interchange Station in both directions, with a calculated total of 175,000 seats per day, making this one of the best-connected transport interchanges in the country and a new gateway to the UK.
