Mace Dragados JV (MDJV): HS2 Ltd's "Station Construction Partner" for London Euston, appointed 2019. Reference page for CV/pursuit purposes, researched 2026-07-02. Read the 2026 status section carefully before any conversation with SRSA/Mace/Dragados contacts, the position has changed substantially since the original 2019 contract.
⚠️ Most important finding on this page: as of July 2026, the Euston station box is not under active construction by Mace Dragados. Works were paused by DfT in March 2023 for cost reasons, the contract has not been terminated but sits dormant, and government has since pivoted to a new Design-Build-Finance-Maintain (DBFM) public-private-partnership procurement run via a new Euston Delivery Company (EDC), not the original 2019 Mace Dragados contract. Treat Mace Dragados as the incumbent/legacy design-and-early-works partner. The live opportunity, if any, is the emerging DBFM PPP process, which is a different commercial route entirely.
📐 Programme scope
Publicly used JV name: Mace Dragados / Mace/Dragados, commonly abbreviated MDJV. HS2 Ltd's contractual title for the role is "Station Construction Partner" (the original March 2019 GOV.UK release calls it a "Construction Partner contract").
Original 2019 scope: Euston station construction (platforms, concourse, Underground/rail connections) plus twin-bore tunnels toward Old Oak Common/Ruislip and associated demolitions/utility diversions. By the 2020 mobilisation the description narrows to station-box-centred work: piling, excavation, substructure, concourse, platforms, Underground connections.
⚠️ The Euston Approaches tunnel (Old Oak Common to Euston, tunnelling launched Jan 2026) is being delivered by a separate contractor, Skanska Costain Strabag (SCS) JV, not Mace Dragados. Tunnelling scope appears to have been re-demarcated away from the original 2019 announcement.
⚠️ Mace Dragados JV was also separately appointed Construction Partner for HS2's Birmingham Curzon Street station (2021), so the brand is not Euston-exclusive. Could not verify a distinct registered legal JV entity at Companies House, only the parent Dragados entities appear individually (Dragados UK Ltd no. 03498835; Dragados Sociedad Anonima, overseas no. FC030098), likely an unincorporated contractual JV.
🗺️ Where it sits in HS2's wider structure
Euston is HS2's London terminus and one of the most politically and financially contested parts of the programme. Interface with the operational classic network (including the West Coast Main Line at Euston) sits with a joint "On Network Works" (ONW) team run by Network Rail and HS2 Ltd together, the same shared interface role that covers Old Oak Common/SRSA. HS2's own "Works in Euston Approaches" pages describe overnight/weekend works requiring possessions on adjacent Network Rail lines.
📅 Current 2026 status: timeline
2019-03 HS2 Ltd signs Construction Partner contract with Mace Dragados JV for Euston.
2020-07 Mace Dragados mobilises on site: piling, excavation, substructure works begin.
2023-03 DfT orders a pause on the station box "for at least two years" after costs rose from an estimated £2.6bn to £4.8bn. Mace demobilises roughly 200 staff/supply-chain/contractors, on-project headcount falls from a combined Mace+Dragados peak of ~360 to around 40 on the Mace side.
2024-10 Government confirms HS2-tunnel funding into Euston continues, but says it will seek private finance for the station itself and the surrounding campus.
2025-06 New Euston Delivery Company (EDC) confirmed, to oversee the whole Euston campus and explore a public-private partnership.
2026-01 Tunnelling from Old Oak Common toward Euston begins (TBMs "Madeleine" and "Karen"), delivered by SCS JV, not Mace Dragados.
2026-02 DfT launches early/preliminary market engagement for a Design-Build-Finance-Maintain (DBFM) PPP to deliver the Euston station, a new procurement route distinct from the dormant Mace Dragados contract.
2026-04 EDC assumes "single directing mind" leadership of the Euston programme, currently a DfT business unit, targeting independent public-body status by autumn 2026. Lendlease is DfT's Master Development Partner for the wider campus masterplan.
2026-05 DfT/HS2 Ltd's 6-monthly Parliamentary report revises total HS2 cost to £87.7bn to £102.7bn (2025 prices), flags Euston/Underground costs as a separate, less-mature "early estimate," and does not mention Mace Dragados by name.
2026-06-30 Further trade press coverage indicates government still lacks clarity on Euston's end-state, EDC/masterplan still evolving.
⚠️ Platform count has changed over time: 2022 design brochures and press describe 10 platforms across three levels; the May 2026 Parliamentary report describes only 6 platforms "to support all foreseeable Phase 1 services," with space provisioned for future expansion. Very likely a genuine design reduction tied to the 2023 cost-driven redesign, do not present the 10-platform figure as current.
👥 Key people
Laurence WhitbournHS2 Euston Area Client Director, as of Jul 2020
Martyn WoodhouseMace Dragados Project Director, as of Jul 2020
Mark ThurstonHS2 Ltd CEO at the March 2019 contract signing
Jason MillettMace COO for Consultancy, quoted at signing
Patrick CawleyDirector of On Network Works, HS2 Ltd & Network Rail jointly. Same shared role noted on the SRSA page, relevant to the Network Rail interface, not Mace Dragados-specific
Ben WheeldonReported Mace Dragados JV programme director role, not independently confirmed from a primary article
Paul LeightonReported Mace Dragados JV deputy delivery director role, not independently confirmed from a primary article
⚠️ No individual LinkedIn profile URLs were confirmed for anyone above, only company/JV pages surfaced (Dragados UK & Ireland LinkedIn, Mace Dragados YouTube channel). Confirm current roles directly before outreach, several of these are from a 2019 to 2020 mobilisation period and staff/roles will have moved on given the 2023 pause.
🤝 Contractors & JV partners
- Mace: JV partner, construction/programme management
- Dragados: JV partner, civils/construction (Dragados UK Ltd and Dragados Sociedad Anonima)
Adjacent but separate: Skanska Costain Strabag (SCS) JV delivers the Old Oak Common to Euston approach tunnels. Lendlease is DfT's Master Development Partner for the wider Euston campus masterplan (not the station itself). The new DBFM PPP procurement (market engagement from Feb 2026) will introduce a further, currently unknown, delivery partner or consortium for the station box.
📋 Delivery / access-planning model & terminology
Euston HS2 works sit directly against live Network Rail West Coast Main Line operational platforms. HS2's "Works in Euston Approaches" pages describe overnight/weekend works requiring possessions on adjacent Network Rail lines, for example removal of a Network Rail wall in the "Euston Throat," with scaffolding erected only when tracks below are out of use. Historically, two Euston approach lines were closed for two six-week periods, coordinated with Network Rail's WCML upgrade works. An HS2 Learning Legacy paper exists on this interface: "Streamlining design coordination, connecting High Speed Two to the West Coast Mainline."
⚠️ Could not verify whether HS2/Mace Dragados possession-booking maps onto Network Rail's PPS vocabulary (WK-numbered possessions, blocked-line notices), public language is generic ("overnight and weekend works," "possessions," "line closures"), no PPS-specific term found in sources reviewed.
📝 Running reference notes
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🔗 Sources
| Source | Date | Link |
|---|
| GOV.UK: Euston works step up a gear as HS2 Ltd signs Construction Partner contract | 2019-03-11 | open ↗ |
| HS2 Media Centre: HS2 contractors Mace Dragados start work on Euston station site | 2020-07-13 | open ↗ |
| Construction News: Euston station works paused for at least two years | 2023-04-17 | open ↗ |
| Construction Enquirer: HS2 Euston pause coverage | 2023-03-26 | open ↗ |
| New Civil Engineer: Euston tunnelling begins from Old Oak Common (SCS JV, TBMs Madeleine & Karen) | 2026-01-22 | open ↗ |
| New Civil Engineer: DfT launches DBFM PPP market engagement for Euston station | 2026-02-06 | open ↗ |
| Construction Enquirer: Euston DBFM PPP coverage | 2026-02-09 | open ↗ |
| New Civil Engineer: Euston masterplan "a team game" says delivery company (Euston Delivery Company / Lendlease) | 2026-06-30 | open ↗ |
| GOV.UK / HS2 Ltd: HS2 6-monthly report to Parliament | 2026-05 | open ↗ |
| HS2 Ltd: Euston station overview | updated 2026-07-02, checked same day | open ↗ |
| HS2 Ltd: Works in Euston Approaches, map, presentation, fact sheets and Q&As | undated, checked 2026-07-02 | open ↗ |
| HS2 Ltd: Update, overnight and weekend works in Euston Approaches | 2026-02 | open ↗ |
| HS2 Euston Station Design brochure (10-platform design, superseded) | 2022-05 | open ↗ |
| HS2 Euston Station Design brochure (revised) | 2022-12 | open ↗ |
| HS2 Media Centre: first look at new designs for HS2 London Euston station | undated, checked 2026-07-02 | open ↗ |
| Global Railway Review: Mace Dragados JV (MDJV) organisation profile | undated, checked 2026-07-02 | open ↗ |
⚠️ Could not verify: a Companies House-registered legal JV entity for Mace Dragados, individual LinkedIn URLs for any named person, the precise contractual scope boundary between Mace Dragados and SCS JV on tunnelling, and whether HS2/Euston possession-booking uses Network Rail's PPS system terminology specifically.