Balfour Beatty, the international infrastructure group, has today published its ‘Staying on Track’ paper. This lays out the Group’s view that new funding models are essential to provide the UK’s rail industry with continuity of project flow, in order to support growth in innovation and skills.
The upgrade of our national rail network has the potential both to enable and drive economic expansion. However, delivering this is inextricable from ending the current stop-go pattern of funding. The investments required in capability, R&D and critical strategic equipment, cannot be justified by the industry without greater certainty.
Ignoring this will cause rail suppliers to continue to lose skilled engineers – be they about to retire, much in demand by other industries, aspiring recruits or foreign workers - to sectors with more reliable project pipelines. The same forces will also restrict investment in new technology and productivity.
Such loss would intensify the already serious constraints facing the rail industry and put in question efficient delivery of the Government’s intended infrastructure enhancements, with all their benefits.
Leo Quinn, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, said: “The current combination of low-cost borrowing, a general appetite for infrastructure assets and growing demand for train capacity are a powerful catalyst for accelerating the development of our national rail network. However, the scale of investment this requires of the sector’s suppliers makes it imperative to provide long-term certainty in the project pipeline. This means cracking the code on the underlying funding model. The prize is to develop a world-class rail industry in terms of innovation and capability, and provide jobs for many thousands of people.”
Media enquiries to:
Vivienne Dunn
Balfour Beatty
t: +44 (0) 207 963 2150
e: pressoffice@balfourbeatty.com
For all non-media related enquiries please contact +44 (0)20 7216 6800 or info@balfourbeatty.com
Notes to editors:
- Balfour Beatty is one of the UK’s leading rail infrastructure suppliers. From feasibility studies, planning and design through to implementation and asset management, we provide multi-disciplinary rail infrastructure services across the lifecycle of rail assets. Our expertise covers electrification, track, power, civils, specialist rail plant, railway systems and technologies.
- Balfour Beatty’s current portfolio of rail projects includes the £170m Track Partnership for London Underground, the £50m project for track remodelling of London Bridge and Crossrail projects including the £130m Abbey Wood station, the £110m Whitechapel station and the £70m station at Woolwich.
- Balfour Beatty’s Rail Innovation Hub in Derby, which was visited by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling this year, has a team of the industry’s leading technical experts and engineers dedicated to research, develop and test the latest, ground-breaking technologies and working practices in the UK and overseas. These include High Speed Measurement Systems and Automated Inspection and Monitoring Systems which enable track maintenance to be done on passenger trains at high speed, allowing early fault detection and significantly reducing costs.
