High Speed 2 (HS2) Ltd has appointed Stephenson Harwood partner Suzanne Tarplee to act as its interim general counsel and company secretary.

HS2 Ltd is the developer of Britain's new north-south high speed rail line connecting the capital to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

Tarplee has been seconded to HS2 from Stephenson Harwood for six months from 2 March.

A HS2 spokesperson said Tarplee's appointment was an interim measure while a permanent replacement is recruited.

She joined Stephenson Harwood's rail team as partner in London in early 2014 from Burges Salmon, where she was a legal director in the rail group.

At HS2 she replaces Betty Morgan who was general counsel for HS2 for two years until the end of February.

Tarplee's role will include managing an in-house legal team and external law firms as the project moves into its procurement and implementation phase.

Construction on the first phase of the line is due to start in 2017 and be completed by 2025. The first train services will run between London and Birmingham from 2026.

In January, Herbert Smith Freehills (HSF) scored a high-profile mandate to advise HS2.

The firm is providing legal advice on infrastructure, construction and rolling stock on what will become the first new railway north of London in 120 years.