If you’ve travelled on the UK’s only true high-speed railway, HS1, then you’ve travelled on tracks operated, maintained and renewed by Network Rail High Speed (NRHS).
NRHS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd that manages the UK’s only high-speed line. This means it constantly has to prove itself as a quality provider, from reliability to value for money.
High Speed 1 (HS1) operates to different standards to the rest of Network Rail. It has its own safety management system and even its own track safety qualification. For instance, we do the majority of our maintenance and renewals at night because the speed of the trains on HS1 make it unsafe to work while the line is open.
NRHS has an agreement with its client HS1 Ltd to manage the HS1 route infrastructure and three of its four stations: St Pancras International, Stratford International and Ebbsfleet International.
Our train operators are Eurostar and Southeastern which run on HS1 tracks. NRHS also have relationships with East Midlands Railway and Govia Thameslink Railway Ltd. (GTR) who access St Pancras station, as well as freight companies GBRF and DB Cargo.
In April 2020, NRHS entered its third control period, CP3, which sees a shift in focus from operating and maintaining the HS1 infrastructure to including planning and carrying out major renewal works and projects over the next five years.
Main railway lines
- High Speed 1 is the rail line between St Pancras International in London and the Channel Tunnel and connects with the international high-speed routes between London and Paris, and London and Brussels.
Safety
We work closely with local communities to promote safety by the railway.
Projects
Although the HS1 infrastructure is still relatively new, in the last few years we have started to see the need for renewal interventions as the asset ages. In Control Period 3 we will be working closely with our client, HS1 Ltd, our train operating companies and stakeholders to deliver renewals on the high speed line that minimise disruption for our passengers and keep trains running on time.
LET Project
From 2022, we will start a three-year project to renew our lifts, escalators and travellators to make moving through our stations easier and safer for our passengers.