Mowlem chief executive Simon Vivian has been in talks this week with Network Rail over getting the company reinstated on the track renewal programme.

The talks come as Mowlem issued its fourth profit warning of the year. The company told the City that it expected its profit would be £20m lower than market expectations.

Mowlem was barred from carrying out work on the network in January after it was found to have incorrectly completed maintenance work on the West Coast Mainline.

The company had been allocated 300 yards of track renewal, but after a few hours of use the repaired track started to drop, which led to an inspection. This concluded that Mowlem had used the wrong clamps and equipment to fix the new track to the old.

In an interview with Building this week, Vivian said he would be meeting John Armitt to discuss the situation. He said: “Hopefully we can be back on in the autumn.”

Vivian said he was confident that Mowlem had thoroughly reviewed its systems and processes and had demonstrated it could resume work safely. Last year Mowlem carried out £3m of rail work.

Vivian said he had axed nearly 200 staff in a review of the company after he took over in January.

He added that the company would be pursuing Bath and North East Somerset council over Bath Spa. Mowlem was ordered to leave the project in April. It is understood to be seeking millions of pounds in compensation.