Balfour wins £220m Tube upgrade job

Contractor Balfour Beatty has won a five-year track renewal contract worth £220m from London Underground for work across the Tube network.

Balfour Beatty will replace ballasted track, points and crossings on the Bakerloo, Circle, Central, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, which make up two thirds of the Tube network.

Works are expected to start in spring 2011, with an option to extend the contract for a further two years after the initial five years. The award comes on the same day that a  consortium including Balfour Beatty won a major contract for Crossrail tunnelling work on the access shafts for Whitechapel and Liverpool Street stations.

David Waboso, Capitals Programme Director, said: “It is vital that these works are carried out not only to maintain the continued safe operation of the Tube but also to modernise it.  The track has to be ready for an increase in usage of up to 40%.”

Ian Tyler, chief executive, Balfour Beatty, said: “We are delighted to be continuing our relationship with London Underground.  We are very pleased to be part of such a crucial project, working in partnership with London Underground to deliver a world-class transport system for London.”