The features aim to be constructed to the highest standards to help create a new benchmark for speed and punctuality, ensuring passengers can rely on the service, even in the face of extreme weather.

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Contracts will also cover a new telecom system that will allow travellers to experience uninterrupted phones calls and streaming along the entire route, including in tunnels.  

The move marks a crucial turning point for the project, starting to bring the working railway to life, seven years after parliament officially gave HS2 the go-ahead.

Sir Jon Thompson, executive chair at HS2 Ltd, said: “This is a project of phenomenal scale and ambition and we’re immensely proud of the progress made between London and the West Midlands throughout 2023.

“There will be no let-up in delivery in 2024.  

“The transition in our focus towards railway systems represents another significant milestone and will edge us ever closer towards bringing this transformational project to life.”