HS2 Interchange station to create 1,000 jobs and apprenticeships

The new £370m HS2 Interchange Station located near Birmingham Airport, will bring 1,000 jobs and 22 apprenticeships to the region.

Construction on the station by Laing O’Rourke has already begun, but will not be open until 2027 at the earliest.

Described as “transformational for the Midlands” by Mark Thurston, HS2’s chief executive, the station has been designed to use natural ventilation, daylight, solar power and rainwater harvested from its roof, winning an award for its green credentials.

The station will have direct links to Birmingham International station and the airport, HS2 will also connect London to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham, through a Y-shaped network.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street said: “A thousand jobs will be created in the construction of this place over the the next few years.

“When we think of levelling up in action, HS2 epitomises the potential we can and must unleash by backing the right schemes.

“HS2 will reinforce our region’s place at the heart of the UK economy when it starts operating but it is already delivering for the West Midlands today – through job creation, opportunities for local businesses and of course this new station contract.”

Declan McGeeney, Laing O’Rourke’s director of UK Infrastructure, said: “If you come here in four years’ time, it’ll be like the phoenix rising from the ashes actually, because you’ll have the railway, HS2 underneath, and a large Interchange station – one of the most sustainable stations in the world.

“We will create over 100 apprenticeships, locally, making sure we train them into a construction sector that is desperately short of skills.

“I’ve been in the industry 25 years, I think it’s a very exciting sector, and we need to make sure we use this project as a bit of a stepping stone to make sure we attract more talent into the sector.”