HS2 faces new legal challenge from Siemens over £2.8bn contract
HS2 has reportedly been hit by another legal challenge, this time by German industrial group Siemens, over a £2.8bn contract to build trains for the new rail link.
The new lawsuit comes just days after the firm behind the project confirmed it had settled a previous dispute with Spanish firm Talgo out of court.
The German firm is expected to lose out on the contract to build 54 trains for the new rail line, the Telegraph reported.
That is despite the fact that Siemens last year committed to building a new £200m train manufacturing centre at Goole in Yorkshire.
Commenting on the investment last year, PM Boris Johnson said: “Goole is going to be one of the great European centres of train-making. This factory alone will employ about 700 people.”
Today’s reports are the latest setback for a project that has been beset with challenges almost since its inception.
Back in 2017, there were 54 companies on the original long list for the train building contract. Now it is expected that a JV between Bombardier and Hitachi, France’s Alstom, and Spanish CAF will be the final three candidates.
HS2 and Siemens did not respond to a request for comment.