The firms will tender for two separate packages covering lifts and escalators worth £267m and £198m, respectively.

• Fujitec UK
• Kone
• Otis
• Schindler
• Thyssenkrupp Elevator UK

Contracts are expected to be awarded next year and the value includes maintenance for 20 years.

Around 160 lifts and 130 escalators will be installed across the project, placed end to end, the escalators would stretch more than 3km.

The longest escalators will be at Old Oak Common, in west London, which will take passengers 13.5m up from the subsurface platforms to concourse level.

In total, the new station – where HS2 meets Crossrail services to Heathrow and the West End of London – will need more than 50 lifts and escalators.

Three of HS2’s new stations will be built to the highest industry standard – ‘BREEAM Excellent’ – in terms of sustainable lifetime performance, with Birmingham Interchange set to achieve the higher level of ‘BREEAM Outstanding’.

HS2’s procurement and commercial director, David Poole, said: “This invitation to tender is a key step forward in the delivery of HS2’s four iconic new railway stations.

“The lifts and escalators our partners go on to deliver will be at the heart of the operation, moving hundreds of thousands of people every day and helping us to ensure seamless journeys for everyone.”