Network Rail announces £7bn worth of contracts for CP6

J Murphy & Sons, BAM Nuttall Limited and Geoffrey Osborne Limited are the three winners unveiled by Network Rail to deliver three multi-billion-pound contracts for the south of England.

The respective firms will be responsible for renewals and enhancements in Anglia, South East and Wessex for Control Period 6, running from 2019-2024, with the three contracts amounting up to £7bn.

The multi-discipline framework will deliver projects of varying value, including stations, buildings and civils, electrifications, power, signalling, telecommunications and track. Contracts awarded are planned for a five-year period but there is the option of three one-year extensions if required.

Two of the three successful bidders, BAM Nuttall and Geoffrey Osborne, already work in the region and have delivered schemes including a 100-hour blockade to replace a life-expired bridge in Wandsworth and the upgrade of Shoreham Viaduct.

Cameron Burns, Network Rail’s commercial director for the southern region, said over the last few years the organisation had attempted to work more collaboratively and closer to fewer key contractors.

“Given that we are delivering in some of Britain’s busiest stations and on some of the most used routes into the capital, our ability to upgrade the railway with minimal impact on passengers is increasingly important,” he added. “We want to build on this success for CP6 and the relationships we have with our suppliers, and we look forward to working with them all going forward.”

John Dowsett, managing director for Infrastructure at Osborne, said: “Winning this CP6 framework is highly significant for us - it sees us further strengthening our rail portfolio and continuing to work with Network Rail, who recognise and value the collaborative approach we bring.”

The estimated renewals spend on each contract is outlined below:

RouteCP6 renewals estimated value

Anglia   £340m – £460m

Southeast  £640m – £860m

Wessex£280m – £370m

Total  £1.26bn - £1.69bn

The estimated enhancements spend on each contract is outlined below:

Route CP6 Enhancements 

Anglia  Up to £810m

Southeast  Up to £1.06bn

Wessex Up to £850m

Total Up to £2.72bn

John Murphy, CEO of J Murphy and Sons said: “This award continues our long partnership with them in renewing and enhancing infrastructure throughout the UK and will give us the chance to work together and drive innovation and improvements. It was a real team effort across Murphy, and the framework will leverage our engineering and rail capabilities across our whole business.”

Huw Jones, BAM’s Rail director said: “We’re proud of the contribution we’ve made and ae excited to be continuing our collaboration with Network Rail, and our supply chain, for the safe delivery of exceptional rail infrastructure. This confirmation of our continued involvement allows us to invest with confidence in developing skills, our innovation pipeline and technology.”