Rail construction latest

Network Rail will test-drive an Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA)-style procurement strategy for the £550m redevelopment of Birmingham New Street station.

The rail operator will use a so-called 'beauty parade' to choose from Carillion, Balfour Beatty and Mace, assessing in particular their approach to soft skills and partnering, reported Construction News (CN). The move could signal an about turn for Network Rail, which has been criticised in the past for its poor relations with contractors.

The operator will meet with the three firms over a few days in a beauty parade, said CN, as the ODA did when it chose delivery partner CLM, a joint venture of CH2M Hill, Laing O'Rourke and Mace, to oversee Olympic construction work. The completed scheme will more than treble capacity at the station, also adding two 30-storey towers.

On the other side of the tracks, Building reported that Network Rail has 'shocked the industry' by appointing a firm not on its new consultants framework to carry out the £3.6bn Thameslink project.

Cyril Sweett and Franklin + Andrews won out over 91 other firms on the framework, despite that fact that Sweett didn't make the list, announced two weeks ago.

QS's responded to the news with disbelief, having expected that the framework would guarantee members exclusive access to big projects such as the north-south London link. 'This is not great news for a framework that's just kicked off,' an industry source told Building. 'It's disappointing because it was such a tough process to get on it.'

In related news, Building reported that expensive rubber 'noise dimming' rail tracks will have to be installed across over 4km of the Crossrail scheme after residents and businesses on the route complained about noise.

It said the floating slab track costs £467 per metre more than standard track, forcing overall track costs up by £2m. Crossrail agreed to alterations on certain portions of the line after complaints were lodged during the Crossrail Bill's petition period in parliament. The slab track will be laid under Soho, the Barbican Hall and Bow in east London.