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Previous Issues
April 2011
1) Balfour Beatty offloads rail bolt-on
2) Network Rail has unveiled a £200m plan to boost the rail capacity of the Cardiff and Valley area by 2015.
3) Balfour Beatty has agreed to sell its UK railway trackwork manufacturing business to Progress Rail Services, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc
4) Bosses backing high-speed rail
5) MOVE TO UP FARES AND CUT RAIL JOBS
6) New rail line to boost jobs and business
7) 72% of Birmingham and Solihull firms back high speed rail link
8) London Bridge redevelopment to bolster civil engineering recruitment
9) Express delivery as business leaders sign up to 250mph train link
10) 150 jobs may be created on site in Gateshead
Balfour Beatty offloads rail bolt-on
Balfour Beatty has announced the sale of its UK trackwork manufacturing business for an undisclosed sum. The company has agreed terms with Progress Rail Services, a subsidiary of Caterpillar. The rail manufacturing bolt on had 2010 revenue of £55 million and gross assets of £43m. The trackwork business designs and manufactures manganese steel castings, track panels, turnouts and crossings at five sites in the UK. In a statement to the stock market Balfour Beatty said it had sought the deal after changes to the procurement model which meant owning manufacturing capability was no longer advantageous.
Network Rail has unveiled a £200m plan to boost the rail capacity of the Cardiff and Valley area by 2015.
The congestion-busting scheme will remove the rail bottleneck on the city line, allowing extra four trains per hour to run through the Cardiff area. This will unlock the potential for more and longer trains to serve the Valley lines and to boost the railway’s capacity, bringing 600 more seats during rush hours. Network Rail is currently tendering for different contractors, including signalling, buildings and track, to help deliver the scheme, whilst the detailed design plan is being finalised and some minor preparatory work begins onsite. The upgrade will allow more freight trains to operate through Cardiff. Rail services will also become more reliable as the signalling equipment becomes more robust and efficient. Passenger demand in the Cardiff and Valley area is increasing at 8% on average each year. It is forecast that the number of passengers travelling in the Cardiff and Valley areas will exceed 12m per year by the end of 2015. With 900 trains already travelling through the Cardiff area to support current demand every day, the railway needs more capacity by the end of this decade.
Balfour Beatty has agreed to sell its UK railway trackwork manufacturing business to Progress Rail Services, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc.
The trackwork business, part of Balfour Beatty Rail, designs and manufactures manganese steel castings, track panels, turnouts and crossings at five sites in the UK. The business generated revenue of £55m in 2010 and had gross assets of £43m. Explaining why it was selling, Balfour Beatty said that the procurement model for rail services had evolved in recent years, eliminating the competitive advantage of owning manufacturing capability. Balfour Beatty Rail remains committed to its core business as a global, fixed-rail infrastructure contractor, the company said.
Bosses backing high-speed rail
TOP Sheffield company bosses are among 111 business leaders from across the north of England to sign a letter in support of Britain’s planned £32 billion high speed rail network. The signatories, including Yuri Matischen, president of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, and Simon Carr, managing director of city-based construction firm Henry Boot, believe the new lines will bring ‘real benefits’ to the UK economy. The other five Sheffield company bosses who have signed the letter are Bill Collington, managing director of Kiveton Park Steel, Andrew Eyre, executive chairman of spring manufacturer TSL Turton Ltd, Tim Hale, chairman of Champion Hire Ltd, Mark Tennant, independent financial adviser at Whitehall Financial Independent Ltd, based on Queens Road and Keith Lauchlan, owner and director of web design firm Utter, based at The Workstation, Paternoster Row.
MOVE TO UP FARES AND CUT RAIL JOBS
RAIL passengers will face higher fares under radical reforms which would see ticket offices closed and jobs cut, leaked documents have revealed. Unions have threatened strike action over the plans, which were drawn up by Sir Roy McNulty, the former chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, under the Rail Value for Money review. They were presented to industry leaders at a workshop last month. The final report will be presented to ministers and published next month. Sir Roy said: “Some fares [are] well below the level which [the] passenger would pay.”
New rail line to boost jobs and business
A new rail link between Manchester Piccadilly and London Victoria could increase recruitment and business in the sector, reports Manchester Evening News. Commuters could also witness an increase in the number of train services connecting them with London if the £85m plans are realised. Greater Manchester has seen an increase in rail use of 82 per cent of the last 10 years and growth in the region's railways is forecast to increase by 54 per cent by 2020. The new rail link should conjure up rail jobs in Manchester and the surrounding area. Stephen Clark, rail programme director at the Greater Manchester Transport Executive, said: "There's very strong evidence for the impact the hub will have on the economy of Greater Manchester and the North. It's based on connecting the big cities and getting people to work in the morning.
72% of Birmingham and Solihull firms back high speed rail link
New research shows more than two-thirds of businesses in Birmingham and Solihull are in favour of the high speed rail link (HS2) between London, Birmingham and the north. A survey by Birmingham Chamber of Commerce indicates that 72 per cent of Birmingham and Solihull businesses believe that HS2 will open up inward investment, employment and economic prosperity opportunities for the future. However, as research conducted by the Birmingham Post this month showed, the proposals are more popular in Birmingham and Solihull than elsewhere in the West Midlands. The research was conducted by Birmingham Chamber, which is a member of the Go-HS2 alliance, which endorses the plans.
London Bridge redevelopment to bolster civil engineering recruitment
Network Rail has unveiled its plans for the redevelopment of London Bridge station, which could generate new civil engineering jobs over the next few years. It intends to build a new ground-level concourse at the south London rail station, complete with two new entrances, as well as increasing the number of tracks that pass through from six to nine. These proposals will now undergo a consultation period before Network Rail submits a planning application for the project, with a view to commencing construction work in 2013 and reaching completion in 2018. Martin Jurkowski, Network Rail's project director leading the London Bridge redevelopment, remarked: "Passengers want more space, less congestion and a station that is easier to get around in - as well as a better, more reliable rail service."
Express delivery as business leaders sign up to 250mph train link
More than 100 key business leaders have signed a letter supporting plans to bring high-speed rail to Manchester. They claim the £32bn project would create real benefits and boost firms' ability to recruit staff, move goods and make the most of business opportunities. Among those who have signed are Charlie Cornish, chief executive of Manchester Airports Group, as well as Clive Memmott, chief executive of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, and Michael Ogelsby, chairman of commercial property giant Bruntwood. The letter says: "As employers we need this investment; our employees need this investment; our region needs this investment. Now is the time to show our support for high-speed rail."
150 jobs may be created on site in Gateshead
AROUND 150 jobs will be created if developers get the go-ahead to give a derelict site a new lease of life. Network Rail and 3R Land & Property have submitted a planning application to develop a brownfield site on Askew Road, Gateshead. The proposed scheme will regenerate the plot by creating a new North East maintenance centre for Network Rail, and a mixed-use development, including a hotel, for 3R Land & Property. Network Rail’s site will include a two-storey office building, storage facilities and car and cycle parking spaces. There would be office space totalling 2,070sqm, housing up to 300 staff from existing offices and sub-depots across the region.
