BAM awarded €270 million Borders Railway construction contract

Bunnik, The Netherlands, 13 December 2012 - Network Rail has appointed BAM Nuttall Ltd as main contractor for the delivery of the new Borders Railway. The €270 million (£220 million) contract includes detailed design and construction works for the new line, which will enter service in 2015 and will re-establish a passenger rail link for the first time in over 40 years from Edinburgh through Midlothian to Tweedbank.

The line will include 30 miles of new railway with three existing stations and seven new ones – at Shawfair, Eskbank, Newtongrange, Gorebridge, Stow, Galashiels and Tweedbank. Construction work will take place simultaneously along the line of route, centred on three main project hubs in Fountainhall, Tweedbank and Monktonhall.

The project is carried out by BAM Nuttall in close co-operation with BAM Rail and BAM Contractors. This is a good demonstration of combining the groups engineering capabilities to work on complex multi-disciplined projects, as set out in Royal BAM Group’s Strategic Agenda 2013-2015.

Once complete, the Borders Railway will offer a fast and efficient alternative to the congested local road network and passengers will be able to travel direct from Tweedbank to Edinburgh Waverley in less than an hour at peak times. The railway is expected to deliver major economic and social development opportunities.

Network Rail, the owner-operator of Britain’s railways, is delivering the Borders Railway on behalf of the Scottish Government. The project is a key part of the Scottish Government’s wider programme of investment in transport infrastructure, working towards the sustainable economic growth of Scotland.