Four companies are to undertake up to £9 billion of renewals on Network Rail’s Southern Region over the next ten years.
VolkerFitzpatrick has won the Buildings and Civils work, Octavius the Electrification and Plant section, VolkerRail trackwork and Atkins the signalling element. The contracts cover Control Period 7 which runs from April 2024 to March 2029 and Control Period 8, which covers the following five years.
Network Rail says work is under way deciding the Control Period 7 budget and is seeking a final settlement with the Office of Rail and Road.
The contracts are being awarded in an alliance known as Southern Integrated Delivery (SID), which is based on the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Project 13 principles and which has been developed via cross-industry consultation over the last 30 months.
Project 13 involves five ‘pillars’ – ‘Capable Owner’, governance, integration, organisation, and digital transformation – and a set of accompanying principles. Under its philosophy, the asset owner (in this case, Network Rail) is core and responsible for establishing the ‘enterprise’ – a body of work made up of integrated and collaborative delivery teams. Reward is based on value added to overall outcomes rather than time or volumes, while risk is allocated to align with capabilities.
Network Rail says that by tying efficiency savings found by partners to increasing the workbank and linking profit to extra work delivered, SID will maximise efficiency and deliver better value for taxpayers.
Its Southern Region Managing Director Ellie Burrows said: ‘I am really excited for the future of project delivery in the Southern Region - the rail industry has consistently demonstrated that when it comes together, it can do amazing things - this transformational step will bring all those ingredients together for the long-term delivery of renewals and make a tangible difference to passengers and freight users alike.’
