Construction work for pipelines, communication and power lines, for highways, roads, airfields and railways; flatwork

Description

Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd (‘Network Rail’) is using an alliance contracting arrangement to procure a programme of works relating to power supply upgrades and electrification to the UK railway infrastructure network. The works comprise the electrification of the Transpennine Route (Stalybridge to Colton junction, Hambleton junctions and Selby and branches to Middlesbrough, Scarborough, Hull and Cleethorpes). The contract was awarded on 1 October 2014 to an alliance comprising VolkerFitzpatrick Rail Ltd, Siemens plc and J Murphy and Sons Ltd (TRUe Alliance — East of Leeds) and the estimated total value of the alliance contract awarded was between GBP 500 000 000 and GBP 800 000 000 (‘Alliance’). Network Rail procured a multi-disciplinary programme comprising overhead line electrification, distribution, supervisory control and data acquisition, civils and signalling and telecoms. Economic operators or groups of economic operators were required to have capability to undertake these key disciplines. Consistent with alliance contracting arrangements and in addition to its role as project ‘owner’ Network Rail highlighted that it would provide certain works and/or services as a participant in the alliance. The contractor(s) and Network Rail each as an ‘alliance participant’ forming the ‘alliance’ are required to work as an integrated team providing resources on a ‘best for project’ basis and sharing risk and reward.