The contracts, which will be delivered by 2015, have a revenue for Atkins of £64m and are a key part of Network Rail’s investment to upgrade the signalling in the Cardiff and wider south Wales area.

Under the two contracts, Atkins will design, manage and implement the replacement of signalling and associated power and distribution equipment across 192 route miles of track between Newport and Port Talbot, covering the Vale of Glamorgan and Valleys areas.

Prof Dr Uwe Krueger, Atkins’ chief executive officer, said: “This is another important success for our UK business and is a further sign of Network Rail’s confidence in our rail team to help deliver high-profile and technically-complex signalling contracts.

“We understand the engineering challenges a project of this nature poses and have mobilised the resources to provide the multidiscipline teams needed to overcome them and help Network Rail to grow and enhance this vital part of the country’s infrastructure.”

The Cardiff area signalling renewal contracts follow the award earlier this year of two major signalling project frameworks for Sussex/Wessex and Kent/Anglia, worth in excess of £400m over a seven year period.

Network Rail also confirmed in June that Atkins was a strategic partner for its new consulting business to pursue opportunities in international markets.