Thursday 3 Apr 2025
Network Rail Awards £1.1 billion contract to four suppliers for on-track maintenance machines
- Region & Route:
- National
Network Rail has awarded contracts worth up to £1.1 billion to four suppliers of on-track maintenance machines vital in maintaining and renewing Britain's railway network.
The contracts have been awarded to Balfour Beatty Rail Limited, Colas Rail Limited, Swietelsky Babcock Rail (SB Rail) and VolkerRail Specialist Businesses Limited, to provide On Track Machines (OTM) including tampers and ballast regulators. They will also supply operational and support personnel to support routine maintenance, renewals, and upgrade works, ensuring Britain's 20,000 miles of track is maintained to the highest standards.
Around 70 OTMs are included in the new contract. They are operational 24/7 and are self-propelled, allowing them to quickly reach sites needing intervention, thus minimising disruption to passengers and freight customers.
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 new contracts represent the third iteration and reflect updated standards and technologies essential for supporting Britain's rail network. The four suppliers will compete throughout the contract period, allowing Network Rail the flexibility to remove a poorly performing supplier or underperforming machines from the contract.
The contracts will run for eight years - April 2025 to March 2033 - with the possibility of extending them by two years.
Notes to Editors
- The machines are operational 24/7 throughout the year, delivering around 14,650 shifts annually.
- Over 98.35% of shifts delivered successfully in FY 24/25.
- When trains travel over the track, they generate enormous forces that cause the track to move underneath and return to its correct position. Over time, the track can settle in the incorrect position, where we need regular maintenance. OTMs are used to return the geometry by repacking the ballast to lift, level and align the track into its designed position.
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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.
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