Engineering firms Balfour Beatty and Carillion have been tasked with helping to modernise the UK rail network under two track renewal contracts awarded today.

The groups have agreed five-year deals with Network Rail and will begin work to upgrade sections of track, switches and points on key rail routes this month.

The awards come two weeks after rival Jarvis was awarded two track renewal contracts covering the area of the Potters Bar train crash.

Jarvis will be responsible for renewals of track and points in the London North East region, including the site of the crash at Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, in May 2002 in which seven people died and 76 were injured.

Network Rail decided to take all rail maintenance work in-house last year in a move that led a number of engineering firms, including Carillion, to warn on profits.

But it continues to offer contracts to engineering firms to help rebuild the UK's rail infrastructure.

Under today's awards, Balfour will renew track, switches and crossings across the Southern region and in East and West Anglia, including Northeast London.

The contract is estimated to be worth £113 million in its first 12 months and more than £500 million over five years.

Carillion will be responsible for renewing track in the West Midlands and upgrading switches and crossings in the West Midlands, North West and Great Western Region in a deal worth around £50 million in its first year.

Its existing contract for switches and crossings renewals on the West Coast mainline - worth around £15 million a year - will continue as planned.

Both contracts with the engineering firms can be extended by Network Rail for a further five years if the work is carried out satisfactorily.

Balfour chief executive Mike Welton expressed delight at the deal which secured renewals work across a "very substantial proportion" of the rail network.

He said: "We look forward to working with Network Rail in improving the efficiency of renewals delivery and helping to deliver a safe and efficient railway."

Paul Kirk, managing director of Carillion Transport, said the contracts reflected the company's "absolute focus on safety, quality and performance".

Monday April 05, 2004