The Mace Dragados Joint Venture (MDJV), the contractor for HS2’s Curzon Street Station, is gearing up for a significant increase in construction activity in 2025. This marks the beginning of a series of major contract awards for Birmingham’s flagship station.
MPB Structures, a civil engineering specialist based in Birmingham, has secured the contract to construct the substructure foundations. This phase follows the ongoing piling operations by Keltbray, which involves installing 2,000 concrete piles to support the station's foundations.
Starting in January 2025, a team of approximately 140 MPB personnel will commence work on the intricate substructure. Their tasks include excavating 65,000 cubic meters of earth, using around 17,000 cubic meters of concrete to install 417 pile caps, and incorporating over 4,700 tonnes of reinforcing steel for the station's ground beams.
Additionally, the team will waterproof the new concrete structures, develop the drainage network within and around the station, and construct attenuation tanks to store rainwater, which will be recycled for use within the station once it becomes operational.
Patrick Boyle, Board Director and Business Owner, MPB Structures said:
“We are delighted to have secured this prestigious contract on the Curzon Street Station build. Our business has a long and rich history of successfully delivering major projects for key clients across Birmingham and the wider West Midlands.
“We are fully committed to this project and to the opportunity to support and deliver a significant social value proposition for MDJV and HS2.”
“In addition to local employment, one of our main aspirations is to create work placements and workless jobs starts for local people building on other successes we have had in this arena coupled with West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker’s ambition to create 20,000 jobs and opportunities within the region.”
Gerard Smith, Skills and Employment Lead at MDJV said:
“We aim to offer opportunities for local people to join the team as work ramps up on the station construction programme. On this phase of work, there will be two placements per month, including training, offered for the duration of the nine-month contract. We’ll give successful placements a month work trial with a view to employment on completion.”
In the coming months, additional contracts will be awarded for the construction of Curzon Street Station’s superstructure. This phase will include building the station’s floor slab, lift shafts, stairs, and columns to support the viaducts that will bring trains into the station. The viaducts will be constructed using pre-cast concrete beams manufactured off-site to optimize time and space on-site.
Following this, another contract will be awarded for the station’s façade, walls, and glazing. The station’s design will be finalized over the next year, focusing on details such as the roof and the internal fit-out.
Curzon Street Station is poised to become a key destination and bustling departure point in Britain’s new high-speed railway network. It will offer excellent connectivity to Eastside and Digbeth, fostering wider regeneration by linking the learning and creative quarters, new residential developments, and the city centre.
The station will provide seamless connections to the local transport network, including buses and the Midland Metro, with a tram line running alongside and under the station. Additionally, it will create new public spaces, including two squares and a promenade.
Image credit: HS2
