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The French multinational revealed few details about the design, other than saying it was “designed to meet all of HS2 Ltd’s requirements for a world class, modern and flexible train which is as comfortable on the conventional network as it is on the new HS2 infrastructure.”
The network will link London with Birmingham, and then onwards to Manchester and Leeds, with trains running up to 400km/h. HS2 services will also serve destinations beyond the core network, including York, Newcastle, Liverpool, the north west, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
“Alstom’s vision is to make HS2 trains a timeless design classic, with a passenger experience that is as smooth, calm and spacious as it is high-speed,” said Nick Crossfield, managing director for Alstom in UK and Ireland.
He also praised the project, which will decide who to hire for its rolling stock contract next year. “Alstom is excited to unveil this proposed train for HS2, which is the most important economic regeneration project in Britain for decades. It will knit together the great cities of the midlands and the north as never before, and turbo-charge our regional economies.”
Yesterday (4 June), Conservative leadership candidate and former leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom told LBC that as much as £12bn had already been spent on the project, which was previously projected to cost £56bn. The billions have been spent despite preparatory work on the ground only starting in recent months.
Alstom hopes its “unmatched experience”, including the world speed record for high-speed rail, international portfolio and involvement in the original Eurostar train and HS1, will make it a promising candidate for the rolling stock contract.
Update: The other bidders have also now released their own designs, the Railway Gazette has reported.
Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.