HS2 Ltd, the company tasked with delivering the UK’s stunted high-speed rail project, which will now only run a third of the length of the country instead of the London-Manchester link that was first promised, has signed an extension to its deal with Atos. 

The European cybersecurity “leader” will be the HS2 IT Delivery Partner for the next five years. 

But the partnership is not a simple continuation of the partnership first struck in 2021. Atos has formed a “consortium” of Cohesive, Arup,  Chimera Datalabs and Futuria. 

The new group will form digital twins of HS2 infrastructure, injected with railway-specific knowledge from Arup and artificial intelligence from Futuria. 

“This consortium, coupled with Atos’s extensive experience with HS2 and expertise in business change, will drive the successful adoption of technology initiatives,” Atos said. 

Sonia Zahiroddiny, CIO at HS2, said the deal would bring “a wealth of data and technology skills” with “resilience [and] flexibility.” 

“The new strategic partnership with Atos and its partners marks a significant milestone on our path to delivering a fully operational high-speed railway in Britain. It also aligns with our commitment to improve resilience, flexibility and value in our supplier ecosystem through enduring collaborative arrangements.”

Our collaboration with Atos will bring a wealth of data and technology skills with blended experience in both rail and engineering practices to support HS2 in delivering the right capabilities at the right time,” Zahiroddiny added. 

Graham Scanlon of Atos, said: “We are thrilled to be at the forefront of helping HS2 deliver a world leading End-State Railway and proud that they have confirmed their trust in Atos and our esteemed partners to support them. By harnessing the power of our new consortium and the resources in our Centre of Excellence for Critical Infrastructure, we hope we can foster a legacy of technological advancement that will resonate for years to come.”