Leading UK public and regulated services provider Amey, together with its joint venture partner Inabensa, have secured the Southern region for Network Rail’s National Electrification programme.
AmeyInabensa will deliver the contract over the term of the five year framework agreement, which is anticipated to be worth £190m. The programme will commence in April 2014 and will see the electrification of over 250km of track covering routes from Basingstoke to Southampton and Basingstoke to Reading.
The joint venture offers over 50 years’ experience in the rail sector, and will combine Inabensa’s international experience of electrification, overhead line and traction projects with Amey’s rail asset management expertise, local industry knowledge and history of successful client relationships.
Over the course of the project AmeyInabensa will invest heavily in the local community with the aim of hiring 80% of employees locally. Furthermore a carbon emissions reduction plan has been deigned to help ensure the sustainability of the project.
Mel Ewell, Amey’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted that Network Rail has chosen AmeyInabensa to deliver the National Electrification programme across its Southern region. Working collaboratively we will create a partnership that brings innovation and new ways of working to the UK industry, delivering high quality and efficient electrification services to Network Rail.”
Simon Kirby, managing director of Network Rail’s infrastructure projects division, said:
“The framework approach chosen by Network Rail gives suppliers a greater degree of certainty about the company’s pipeline of work and means suppliers can target investment so they have the right people with the right skills in the right parts of the country to deliver schemes which will improve our railway and boost economic growth.”
The contract will form part of Network Rail’s National Electrification programme which will lead to reduced journey times, more reliable train services and an increased capacity across the UK rail network.
Amey was also recently announced as a nominee in the UK Rail Industry Awards for its work on the design and installation of the UKs first High-Output electrification project on the Great Western Mainline, in the categories of Electrification and Recruitment Excellence.