Last week, the company announced that four suppliers have entered into contracts worth up to £1.1bn
The Network Rail supplier contracts are for both maintenance and renewal of the rail network.
The contracts also mean the suppliers will provide support personnel for the 20,000 miles of track.
The four Network Rail supplier contracts also include machinery
Balfour Beatty Rail Limited, Colas Rail Limited, Swietelsky Babcock Rail, and VolkerRail Specialist Businesses Limited are the four companies under the new contracts for Network Rail.
They will be responsible for providing on track machines (OTMs) such as tampers and ballast regulators, as well as operational and support personnel for routine maintenance, renewals, and upgrade works.
The contract is for 70 self-propelled OTMs, which will be in consistent operation so they may reach sites quickly for intervention and minimising disruption to passenger and freight trains alike.
The contracts will be in effect for eight years from April 2025 to March 2033, and have a possible extension of two years at the end. This is the third iteration of these contracts, which have been updated with new standards and technologies.
The four suppliers will be in competition during these eight years, meaning that Network Rail can determine if one is underperforming and can remove them if needed.
Network Rail are to support housing
Network Rail announced last month that they will be helping to sell excess land owned by the government for housebuilding.
They will facilitate this by establishing a new property company, and working in co-operation with the Ministry of Defence to open up unused land.
This is expected to bring around 40,000 new homes over the next 10 years.
This plan already has some sites announced for development, including a 100-acre regeneration project and 5,000 new homes at Newcastle Forth Yards, 1,500 new homes at Manchester Mayfield, 425 new homes in Cambridge, and 200 new homes in Nottingham.
There has also been some criticism levelled against Network Rail recently regarding safety incidents including a derailment and the death of two rail workers due to evidently lax safety measures.
Clive Berrington, Network Rail’s group director, railway business services, said: “This contract represents a substantial investment in the vital maintenance and renewal of Britain’s rail network, ensuring that it’s safe and reliable for the benefit of passengers and freight customers.
“The longevity of the contracts gives our suppliers the confidence to invest in new plant and update their fleets, ensuring the deployment of the latest machines and technologies. As part of our ongoing focus on sustainability, the new machines will also have an improved carbon footprint, fostering innovation across the industry.”
The post New Network Rail supplier contracts total £1.1bn appeared first on Planning, Building & Construction Today.
