ABC Electrification wins £48m contract with Network Rail for West Coast power supply upgrade
ABC Electrification wins £48m contract with Network Rail for West Coast power supply upgrade
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ABC Electrification, the partnership between Alstom, Babcock and Costain, has won its first contract, a £48m project for the third phase of the West Coast Power Supply Upgrade (PSU).
The contract is a key part of Network Rails £9.4bn investment in electrifying British railways. The works in the North West of England will safely support more frequent services and the longer trains that are planned for the West Coast Mainline.
The scope of works will allow the 200km of line between Whitmore and Great Strickland to safely support the heavier timetables and longer trainsets that are planned for the West Coast Main Line. ABC will be on site for nearly three years, until the end of 2016, while it delivers the project in five distinct sections. The lines fault level current will be raised to 12kA, new containerised autotransformers/substations will be installed and overhead feeder line will be installed along the route.
In addition, ABC Electrification intends to work with the National Skills Academy for Rail Engineering to support the national electrification recruitment and training programme that has been launched with Network Rail. ABC Electrification will establish a training centre for rail electrification at existing training bases in Manchester and Blantyre in order to increase the skills and experience of the teams working on the project, and other projects to come.