NEW £17 MILLION CONTRACTS MEANS FURTHER SAVINGS FOR NETWORK RAIL: Stoneblower

Thursday 7 Sep 2006

NEW £17 MILLION CONTRACTS MEANS FURTHER SAVINGS FOR NETWORK RAIL

Region & Route:
National
Major savings are set to be achieved following the award of contracts valued at around £17 million annually to Harsco Track Technologies.  The contracts, which aim to deliver cost savings in excess of 10% in the first year, are for the operation and maintenance of five switch and crossing railgrinders, and the maintenance of Network Rail’s fleet of 18 plainline stoneblowers. Richard Fenny, Maintenance Director, said:  “The award of these contracts is yet another example of Network Rail driving efficiencies throughout its business and making the most of our assets.  We are delivering a more reliable infrastructure and better train punctuality while meeting stringent targets set for us by the independent regulator.” Railgrinders and stoneblowers are extremely effective pieces of machinery that help to deliver good rail profile and alignment of the track.  They form an important part of Network Rail asset stewardship strategy and helping to deliver a smooth and reliable journey for passengers. The contracts are for two and a half years.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - National
020 3356 8700
mediarelations@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

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.

Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk