Skanska Construction has won an £8 million contract to increase the power supply on the East Coast Main Line through Hertfordshire for Railtrack. This contract is a first for Skanska as it involves both civil and electrical engineering.
Although Skanska's UK Civil Engineering business is already an established name in the rail sector with a long-term relationship with Railtrack; this is the first time it has combined with Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil to work on an electrical infrastructure project. The contract involves reinforcing the electrical infrastructure of the line to allow extra trains to be run by the train operating companies.
The design, management and supply project includes a new switching station at Corey’s Mill, introducing new power feeders from the National Grid at Stevenage and extra cable connections to track feeder stations at nearby Hitchin and Langley junctions. Overhead lines and signalling will also be modified to cope with the increased power supply.
Work has already begun on this project which is part of Phase 1 Railtrack's East Coast Main Line (ECML) Upgrade due to be completed towards the end of next year.