VolkerRail-led Alliance Chosen for £1.75 Billion Midlands Rail Hub Upgrade

Network Rail has announced VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke, AtkinsRéalis and Siemens Mobility as the preferred alliance to deliver the £1.75 billion Midlands Rail Hub, the largest rail upgrade in the region for decades.

Under the deal, the alliance will carry out more than £1 billion of non-signalling works alongside approximately £350 million of signalling enhancements. The consortium won over rival joint bids from Balfour Beatty with Skanska, and from BAM with Amey.

Central to the scheme are the construction of two new Bordesley chords near Birmingham city centre, which will link the Chiltern main line at Moor Street with the Camp Hill lines to the South West and the East Midlands.

The project aims to improve connectivity between Birmingham’s three major stations, New Street, Moor Street, and Snow Hill, permitting increased service frequencies, faster journey times and new direct routes across the Midlands. 

Early works include reopening platform 4 at Snow Hill to accommodate extra Chiltern Railways services to London Marylebone, and redeveloping Kings Norton station and its track layout to support additional Cross City line trains.

Government funding of £123 million has already been released for design and development activity, with the first passenger benefits expected by the early 2030s.

“This is a partnership that works. We’ve worked collaboratively alongside preferred alliance partners VolkerRail, AtkinsRéalis and Network Rail for a decade, most recently in the successful delivery of East West Rail Phase 2,” said group commercial director at Laing O’Rourke and Europe Hub clients & markets director, John O’Connor.

“We look forward to bringing our extensive rail experience to the project, and to working closely with SiemensMobility - designing and developing plans that will progress the Midlands Rail Hub”.

Both West Midlands Rail Executive and Midlands Connect welcomed the announcement, describing the scheme as central to driving housing growth, delivering new stations and attracting economic investment across more than 50 communities in the Midlands.

 

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