Automated People Mover (APM) Infrastructure

The HS2 Phase One route is from London Euston to the West Midlands and includes the development of high-speed rail stations at London Euston, London Old Oak Common, Birmingham Interchange and Birmingham Curzon Street.The proposed HS2 Birmingham Interchange Station will be situated approximately 20 km to the southeast of Birmingham city centre, close to Birmingham Airport. An Automated People Mover (APM) is required to transport passengers from adjacent areas to the Interchange Station and the wider HS2 network. The APM network will consist of a maintenance facility and four stops detailed herein:
I. Interchange Station stop;
II. National Exhibition Centre stop;
III. Birmingham International Railway Station stop; and
IV. Birmingham Airport stop.
The APM has been designed as an elevated mass transit system, which will transport passengers between those stops detailed above. The APM route will consist of a 2.3km long viaduct, four stops and a maintenance facility. The Interchange Station Stop is at ground level and the three other stops and maintenance facility are on the viaduct (above ground level). The route has several major crossings to navigate, such as the M42 motorway, the West Coast Main Line (WCML) and Pendigo Lake at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) site.
The key design features of the APM Infrastructure include reinforced central concrete piers, weathered steel deck and escape walkway gratings throughout the entirety of the track. To minimise impact to the existing developed site and public roads, the entire 2.3km route is on an elevated viaduct. This is made up of a range of single and twin track at various points along the route to allow trains to pass each other.The piers range from 6 metres high to 14 metres, depending on the topography along the route. In order to maintain a consistent level for the viaduct, the columns will need to vary in height.
The stops at Birmingham Airport and at Interchange Station will have a single platform face and the...