A joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Sir Robert McAlpine is expected to win a £90m deal to redevelop London Bridge Station.

The two are understood to have beaten off four rivals – Amec, Laing O’Rourke, Skanska and Taylor Woodrow – to become preferred bidder for the project.

The Railtrack contract is split into a £80m design-and-build deal and a £10m project planning stage. It is expected to take two years once funding is in place.

The redevelopment is part of the Thameslink 2000 project, which aims to improve communications between north and south London.

The Thameslink programme is being assessed by a public inquiry and will then be scrutinised by transport secretary Stephen Byers, who is expected to come to a decision by the end of the year.

  • Architect Skidmore Owings Merrill has been chosen as masterplanner for a £400m redevelopment of Euston Station. Other practices on the shortlist for the £2m contract were Foster and Partners, Wilkinson Eyre and Terry Farrell & Partners.

    A Railtrack spokesperson said the firm would look at redeveloping the station. It would also examine commercial opportunities at a 6 ha site nearby. Railtrack is expected to team up with the developer Hammerson for a mixed-use Broadgate-style office scheme. The developer owns the lease on four office buildings around the station.