Media centre

Wednesday 6 Jul 2011

NETWORK RAIL ANNOUNCES LONDON BRIDGE RESIGNALLING CONTRACT

Region & Route:

| Southern

Invensys Rail Ltd has been selected by Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd to undertake the design and delivery of one of Britain’s biggest ever resignalling schemes at London Bridge station and on the approaching railway.

Invensys is the first of three delivery partners with whom Network Rail will form the London Bridge Area Partnership to undertake the reconstruction of the entire station and railway infrastructure at London Bridge.

Simon Kirby, Network Rail’s director of investment projects, said: “This is a great example of how we are changing the way we work to encourage more innovation, deliver projects in a smarter way and get better value for money. By involving our delivery partners at an early stage, the industry will be able to deliver one of the most complex station, track and signalling projects being undertaken on the railway network in a generation.”

The London Bridge resignalling scheme is a significant part of the post-Olympics work on the Thameslink Programme and is critical to delivering the increased rail capacity that London commuters so desperately need.

The scheme is the most complex and ambitious of its type ever specified by Network Rail. Invensys will provide the detailed design, installation, testing and commissioning of signalling and telecoms systems, including new automatic train operation technology under European Train Control System protocols to deliver 24 trains per hour in each direction on the Thameslink core route at completion of the programme in December 2018.

The delivery partners are being engaged early in the project life cycle to enable them to have input into the emerging designs, add critical constructability advice, and help maximise efficiencies in line with Network Rail’s objectives to deliver best value for the railway.

The Thameslink Programme reaches a key milestone in December 2011, when the first 12-car trains begin to run through central London.

The transformation of London Bridge station, and associated railway work, will get underway fully in 2013 and is scheduled to be completed in 2018. It will be the final piece of the Thameslink programme which will enable the frequency of trains to increase from 16 to 24 per hour, providing a much needed capacity boost for increasing numbers of passengers.