Wednesday 30 Sep 2009
NETWORK RAIL COMMITS £250m TO REDUCE PASSENGER DISRUPTION
- Region & Route:
- National
Passengers will reap the benefits as Network Rail continues its investment in high-tech track renewals technology. Disruption will be significantly reduced using high-output technology which can carry out track renewals quicker than conventional methods.
Today, Network Rail announced AmeyColas as its preferred bidder for a new contract to operate and maintain its fleet of high-tech, high-output track renewal systems. Over the next few years, Network Rail is increasingly moving towards carrying out more work at night, reducing disruption and making the network more available for passengers.
The contract, worth around £250m, will see more than 1,600 miles of track – nearly 30% of Network Rail’s total renewals workload - renewed and replaced over the next four years, with £85m in cost savings identified.
Network Rail’s director of infrastructure investment, Simon Kirby, said: “We are committed to delivering a high-performance railway for passengers and freight users. Technological innovation combined with commercial rigour is key to securing this.”
Through modern machinery and efficient automation methods, Network Rail’s high-output systems can replace between 400-600 metres of track and ballast within eight hours, significantly reducing costs and disruption to passengers and freight users.
Notes to editors
Network Rail currently operates three high-output systems consisting of high-output ballast cleaners (which renew ballast to maintain a smooth ride), high-output track renewals trains and other support machinery and plant.
The company is expecting delivery of a fourth high-output system in December 2010.
The contract will be set up under a framework agreement with annual packages of work awarded for the operation and maintenance of each high-output system. The framework creates incentives to improve performance and increase efficiencies that deliver the targets set by the Office of Rail Regulation.
The contract is due to start on 1 January 2010.
In total the framework contract will cover four separate high-output systems – each with its own geographical base. Network Rail’s high-output fleet includes:
System 1
2 ballast cleaning systems
System 2
1 high-output ballast cleaning system
1 high-output track renewal system
support plant
System 3
1 high-output ballast cleaning system
support plant
System 4
(Delivery of plant scheduled towards end of 2010)
1 high-output ballast cleaning system
1 high-output track renewal system
support plant
The framework replaces existing contracts for operation and maintenance of systems two and three with First Swietelsky, and operation of system one with Fastline, both of which have reached the end of their contract period.
Competitive tenders were invited and returned from the following pre-qualified suppliers with relevant experience of high-output operations in the UK and Europe:
- AmeyColas JV (Amey and Colas)
- Rail Link JV (Balfour Beatty, Sersa and Bahn Bau)
- SB Rail JV (Babcock Rail and Swietelsky)
- VolkerWeiss JV (Volker Rail and Leonhard Weiss)
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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.
Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.
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