The six contracts play a key part in a new way of working where Wales and Western region will work collaboratively with trusted suppliers over a longer term to deliver faster and more efficient projects.

The contracts cover essential renewals to buildings and structures, like bridges, tunnels, culverts and drainage, as well as supplying and maintaining electrification and plant.

The electrification and plant portfolio is extremely varied, covering major overhead line interventions to new points heaters, and all the plant at the Severn Tunnel pumping station.

The stations work streams includes new stations at North Filton and Henbury in Bristol, Wellington and Cullompton in Devon, and Charfield in South Gloucestershire.

By packaging the work into one portfolio Network Rail is expecting efficiencies in time and cost through best use of resources, consistency, continual improvement as well as better coordinated access to the railway and a focus on innovative solutions.

These contracts form part of Wales and Western’s overall programme to develop long term supply relationships, like that already in place with our South Rail System Alliance (Colas and Aecom), and will be followed by similar contracts for signalling later in 2023.

Stuart Calvert, capital delivery director for Network Rail’s Wales & Western region, said: “We have made real progress in transforming the delivery of our investment projects, reducing the time and cost of our work, as we saw with completion of the Dartmoor Line to Okehampton.

“We’re taking this same approach to our renewals, and it’s very important that we select excellent suppliers and work collaboratively to get the same sort of benefits which will ultimately support better service for our passengers and freight customers. I’m very excited with these new contracts and look forward to developing the portfolio of works with them.”