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The information below comes from the UK Activity Report.
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Railtrack Railtrack has announced plans to overhaul its rail maintenance procedures by reducing the role of contractors and taking over the management of repairs, renewals and inspections, and will recruit 200 engineers over the next 12 months. 27-Sep-2002 Railtrack is recruiting 30 extra staff in the West Midlands to form a rapid-response team to deal with track problems. 19-Sep-2002 Railtrack is forming a joint venture company with Mott MacDonald and Fluor Daniel to develop the use of PFI on the railways, in order to attract private finance for the upgrade of the East Coast Main Line. 12-Sep-2002 Railtrack has received the backing of the Scottish Executive for the reintroduction of a £12m freight line from Dunfermline to Stirling by late 2005. 04-Jul-2002 Railtrack is to be taken out of administration by Network Rail, a new not-for-profit company that will have access to £11bn of government contingency funds. 28-Jun-2002 Railtrack has submitted plans for the development of a new railway station at the Thames Valley Business Park in Reading. 25-Jun-2002 Railtrack has announced proposals for the £150m revamp of Birmingham's New Street Station, which would more than double the size of the current concourse. 09-May-2002 Railtrack is seeking contractors for nationwide rail renewal work worth up to £8bn. 28-Feb-2002 Railtrack has submitted plans for the development of a 2m sq ft rail freight distribution depot at Parkside Colliery in Newton-le-Willows. 10-Sep-2001 Railtrack is said to be considering plans to move its regional headquarters away from York by merging the London North Eastern zone with the East Anglia zone, which would affect hundreds of jobs. 05-Sep-2001 Railtrack is expected to award a £25m contract to Balfour Beatty for the refurbishment of track and stations in Watford and Bletchley. 31-Aug-2001 London Borough of Barnet is to consider plans from Railtrack and Pillar for the £3bn mixed-use redevelopment of a site in Cricklewood, including offices, residential units and the relocation of a train station. 25-Jun-2001 Railtrack is planning to raise up to £3bn on the bond markets, and has also revealed plans for an internal reorganisation that will split the business into three divisions. 25-May-2001 Railtrack is considering plans to split its railway operating and maintenance business from the business of major track improvements, in order to reduce government interference and reverse the fall in its share price. 11-Apr-2001 Railtrack is planning to build a 2m sq ft distribution park on the site of Parkside Colliery in Cheshire, including rail sidings and warehousing. 05-Feb-2001 Railtrack is seeking a company to take on the responsibility to monitor track quality across the entire rail network, which would involve a nine-year contract worth up to £450m. 11-Jan-2001 Railtrack is forming a joint venture with Marconi to build 5,000 radio masts for mobile phone operators on Railtrack sites over the next three years. 20-Dec-2000 Railtrack is to offer responsibility for a 22-mile stretch of line in North Yorkshire to Wensleydale Railway, a newly formed train operator that has raised £2.5m to upgrade the line and three stations. 30-Nov-2000 Railtrack is considering plans to take railway maintenance back in-house, in order to ease concerns about safety. 13-Nov-2000 Railtrack has secured a £4.7bn grant to improve rail safety, which is part of a total £14.9bn that will be spent on the network over the next five years. 24-Oct-2000 Railtrack is to move into the serviced office market through its Spacia property division, and plans to set up 25 business centres in major cities. 23-Oct-2000 Railtrack is set to announce plans for the £300m redevelopment of London's Victoria railway station, which will involve adding new offices and reconfiguring the existing retail outlets. 02-Oct-2000 Railtrack has announced plans to build a new £1m railway station in Carmarthen, leaving the current site free for redevelopment. 28-Sep-2000 Railtrack is to conduct a feasibility study into the reinstatement of the Matlock to Buxton railway, which would restore a direct link between Derby and Manchester. 13-Sep-2000 Railtrack has secured a 40% increase in annual revenue to £2.6bn, representing direct government grants and higher payments from train operators, which will improve its ability to deliver the £50bn railway investment plan. 28-Jul-2000 Railtrack is considering plans to redevelop the former Parkside Colliery site in Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire, into a rail freight depot. 04-Jul-2000 Railtrack has revealed plans to invest £52bn in the rail network over the next 12 years, including a number of optional projects that will depend on demand from the train operators. 31-Mar-2000 Railtrack has awarded three contracts worth a total of £8m to Fitzpatrick Rail Division, including a £4m project to refurbish its Selhurst depot in south London. 08-Mar-2000 Railtrack is looking to redevelop Edinburgh's Waverley Station at a cost of up to £400m, which would involve the construction of shops and offices on the station roof. 23-Feb-2000 Railtrack has announced plans to invest £2.5bn in renewing and enhancing the rail network over the next year, including £600m for the west coast mainline and £500m for the Channel tunnel link. 18-Feb-2000 Railtrack has awarded a £250m contract to Jarvis for the maintenance of its network in the north-east and eastern England over the next five years. 04-Feb-2000 Railtrack has awarded a £30m contract to John Laing to redevelop Piccadilly station in Manchester. 20-Jan-2000 Railtrack has announced plans for a £2m refurbishment of Harrow and Wealdstone station, in order to create a national railway hub for north west London. 17-Jan-2000 Railtrack has announced plans to rebuild London Bridge station at a cost of £400m, including wider platforms, a longer concourse and new office and retail space. 12-Jan-2000 Railtrack is planning to re-open a rail freight route from Dunfermline to Stirling at a cost of £10m, and has submitted an application to the Scottish Executive for a grant. 03-Dec-1999 Railtrack is to submit a planning application in January for the £500m redevelopment of London Bridge station. 20-Nov-1999 Railtrack has said that the cost of upgrading the west coast main line could reach £4bn, due to changes in the project detail and rising passenger numbers. 20-Nov-1999 Railtrack has shortlisted four companies for a £30m project to upgrade the Piccadilly railway station in Manchester, and they are Laing, Amec, Kvaerner and Carillion. 18-Nov-1999 Railtrack is set to acquire London Underground's sub-surface lines, which means it will need to find finance for the £2.5bn upgrade of the Circle, Metropolitan and District lines. 15-Oct-1999 Railtrack has awarded a £9m contract to Eric Wright for the construction of a new depot in Chester. 14-Oct-1999 Railtrack is linking up with Birmingham International Airport and the National Exhibition Centre to build a £30m transport interchange at Birmingham International station. 02-Oct-1999 Railtrack has submitted plans for a £800m scheme to ease commuter overcrowding on Thameslink and other main rail routes into London, which will include the redevelopment of stations at Blackfriars, London Bridge and St Pancras. 24-Sep-1999 Railtrack is planning a £1.4m refurbishment at Portsmouth Harbour Station. 23-Sep-1999 Railtrack could lose its monopoly on the sale of electricity to the train operating companies, as the rail regulator is aiming to improve the efficiency of electricity use on the railways. 21-Sep-1999 Railtrack is enlisting the help of four international engineering groups to help with its £10.7bn investment programme, and they are Mott MacDonald, Fluor Daniel, Bechtel and Parsons Brinckerhoff. 15-Sep-1999 Railtrack is to invest a further £40m in its track over the next three years, following a review of the network by safety inspectors. 13-Aug-1999 Railtrack is to invest £5m developing its railway arch properties this year, in order to rent them out to businesses such as garages and restaurants. 09-Aug-1999 Railtrack is seeking a fivefold increase in its revenue from profit-sharing deals with train operators, in order to give it more incentive to invest in rail infrastructure. 26-Jul-1999 Railtrack is expected to award a £30m contract to Laing for the extension of the Piccadilly train station in Manchester. 22-Jul-1999 Railtrack has been given the chance to link the London Underground to the national rail network, as the government is seeking to enable passengers to travel across London without changing trains. 16-Jun-1999 Midland Mainline and Railtrack have won government approval to build a £10m railway station on the outskirts of Nottingham. 09-Jun-1999 Railtrack is planning to buy more than 1,000 rail freight wagons, and will find another company to operate them as it is not permitted to run its own trains. 21-May-1999 Railtrack has announced plans to spend £27bn upgrading the rail network over the next 10 years, including £1bn for the east coast main line and £730m for improving connections to airports. 26-Mar-1999 Railtrack is considering plans to build a new headquarters for its London North Eastern zone next to York's railway station, which would combine 500 staff onto one site. 22-Mar-1999 Railtrack is set to announce plans to spend £27bn on improvements to the rail network, a 60% increase on its 10-year investment plan. 11-Mar-1999 Railtrack is planning to modernise the West Anglia railway system at a cost of up to £150m, and preferred bidders will be announced soon. 04-Mar-1999 Railtrack is planning to invest £700m over the next five years to improve the railway infrastructure in the South West. 19-Feb-1999 Railtrack has awarded a £3m contract to Alfred McAlpine for the construction of a railway line between the Great Western Main Line near Swindon and the proposed Keypoint Swindon Euroterminal. 18-Feb-1999 Railtrack is seeking companies to apply for railway infrastructure maintenance contracts, in order to increase efficiency and reduce tendering costs. 11-Feb-1999 Railtrack has confirmed plans to invest an extra £15m in the historic Settle-Carlisle railway over the next three years. 29-Jan-1999 Railtrack has announced a further two year delay to the £600m Thameslink 2000 project in London due to changes in the Channel tunnel rail link project, and it will not be completed until 2006. 29-Jan-1999 Nexus and Railtrack are discussing plans for the £8m redevelopment of Sunderland's railway station, in preparation for the city's link-up with the Metro. 14-Jan-1999 Railtrack has won approval to build a £25m rail terminal for Luton Airport. 07-Jan-1999 Railtrack is considering plans to set up new underground links to the mainline railway, creating north-south and east-west connections across London. 14-Dec-1998 Railtrack and Stannifer are planning a £120m transport, retail and leisure development in Aberdeen city centre, including a shopping mall, restaurants, bars, 13-screen cinema, a health and fitness centre and a car park. 09-Dec-1998 Railtrack is seeking planning permission for a £400m scheme to redesign Edinburgh's main railway station. 27-Nov-1998 Railtrack is considering plans to restore a second track between Hereford and Oxford, via Malvern and Worcester. 27-Nov-1998 Bovis is to manage a £100m contract for Railtrack to redevelop Leeds City railway station. 19-Nov-1998 Railtrack has said that mainline trains could be used to cross London on London Underground tracks, and it is considering reviving the £2bn Crossrail project using a section of the Circle line instead of building a tunnel. 19-Nov-1998 Railtrack is proposing to divert East Coast freight trains through Gainsborough, Lincoln, Sleaford and Spalding, instead of using the main line between Hertfordshire and Doncaster. 18-Nov-1998 Railtrack is said to be planning a £100m project to transform Clapham Junction in London into a shopping and leisure complex. 09-Nov-1998 Railtrack is looking to set up more profit sharing deals with train operating companies in order to give it more incentive to improve the rail network. 06-Nov-1998 Railtrack is in discussions with Amec and Balfour Beatty about an £80m railway infrastructure maintenance contract in the West Anglia and North London region. 05-Nov-1998 Railtrack has awarded a £60m resignalling project at Dartford station to Westinghouse Signals. 22-Oct-1998 Railtack has submitted plans to reconstruct and widen three railway bridges as part of the £150m Leeds City Station re-development plan. 13-Oct-1998 British Land and Railtrack have won permission to build a 700,000 sq ft office block near Liverpool Street station in London. 06-Oct-1998 Railtrack is considering plans to make modifications to large parts of the rail network to enable more freight to be carried, and it is specifically looking at increasing bridge heights and the use of low-floor wagons. 02-Oct-1998 Railtrack is to start construction work on stage one of the Channel Tunnel rail link next month, having won the backing of its shareholders. 29-Sep-1998 Railtrack is to present the government with plans to spend up to £1bn on the upgrading of the East Coast Mainline, including new flyovers, improved power supplies, and new track. 24-Sep-1998 Railtrack is seeking shareholder approval to acquire the first 43-mile section of the planned Channel tunnel rail link between London and Folkestone. 12-Sep-1998 Fife Council is planning to invest £1.8m in a new railway station at Dunfermline, and Railtrack is expected to invite tenders soon. 25-Aug-1998 Railtrack is asking for additional government funding to help it build a rail freight link between Scotland and the Channel Tunnel, as part of a plan to triple the volume of freight moved by rail over the next 10 years. 11-Aug-1998 Railtrack has extended its contract with Balfour Beatty for the renewal of track in its southern zone for another three years. 28-Jul-1998 Railtrack has agreed to make additional improvements to the railway network in order to reduce train delays by 7.5% over the next year, including plans to remove bottlenecks and improve its communication with the train operating companies. 17-Jul-1998 Balfour Beatty has won a £100m contract from Railtrack to redesign the railway tracks outside Euston station in London, as part of the upgrading of the west coast main line. 08-Jul-1998 Railtrack is planning to start selling leases on properties in the City of London in order to help fund its investment programme, and rail franchise operators can expect to receive a share of the proceeds. 07-Jul-1998 Amey has withdrawn from a contract with Railtrack to maintain tracks in the Bristol area, as the two companies have failed to agree terms. 03-Jul-1998 The rail regulator has given approval to the £2.1bn upgrade of the west coast main line, having received assurances from Railtrack and Virgin Rail that services will improve and other operators will be given access to additional paths. 09-Jun-1998 Railtrack has announced plans to invest £3.1bn upgrading the rail network over the next decade, as it shifts the focus of its investment programme away from infrastructure renewal and signalling. 04-Jun-1998 Railtrack has awarded a £400m provisional contract to a consortium led by GEC Alsthom for the installation of a radio-based signalling system on the main west-coast rail line. 16-May-1998 Railtrack and London & Continental Railways have promised to finalise plans to rescue the high-speed Channel Tunnel rail link within two weeks, following government concern that the negotiations will not be completed before the deadline. 29-Apr-1998 The rail regulator has said it will only approve the proposed £2.1bn upgrade of the west coast main line if Railtrack and Virgin Trains agree to make further improvements to the infrastructure in order to enable other companies to use the line. 04-Apr-1998 The government has given London & Continental Railways and Railtrack a further two months to fine-tune their plans for the high-speed Channel tunnel rail link in order to ensure that the cost to the taxpayer is kept to a minimum. 28-Mar-1998 Railtrack has awarded a contract worth £18m a year to Tarmac for rail track renewal work in East Anglia. 04-Mar-1998 Railtrack is said to have been threatened with criminal prosecution by the Health & Safety Executive because of the poor condition of parts of the rail network. 03-Mar-1998 The government has given a one-month extension to London & Continental Railways and Railtrack to agree a proposal to save the high-speed Channel tunnel rail link. 27-Feb-1998 Virgin has decided that its planned investment with Railtrack in the west coast main line is not dependent on it being given an extension to its franchise, which expires in 2012. 20-Feb-1998 Railtrack is in discussions with Bechtel of the US about the preparation of a rescue plan for the troubled high speed Channel tunnel rail link. 19-Feb-1998 Railtrack has linked up with 25 local authorities to propose a £237m rail link between Oxford and Cambridge, which would form part of an east-west route between Swindon and Felixstowe. 06-Feb-1998 Railtrack is to approach the government with plans to build the Channel Tunnel rail link alone, but this is likely to be rejected on the grounds that there should be open competition if the London & Continental Railways consortium fails to produce a viable plan in the next 30 days. 03-Feb-1998 Jarvis and Railtrack are to set up an "alliance board" in order to reduce the impact of engineering work on train operations. 21-Jan-1998 Amey has linked up with SECO/DGF of France to win a £130m track renewals contract for Railtrack's Great Western region. 16-Jan-1998 Railtrack is to go-ahead with plans to upgrade the freight route between Glasgow and the Channel tunnel, and hopes the government will provide up to £150m of grants for the project. 29-Dec-1997 The Rail Regulator has announced a 2-year review of the way Railtrack charges train operators for rail access, in order to set up a new framework that will result in ongoing improvements to the rail network. 11-Dec-1997 Jarvis has won three 3-year contracts, worth a total £290m, from Railtrack for the renewal of track in Scotland, the north, Wales and the Midlands. 09-Dec-1997 Railtrack is discussing the possibility of helping the London & Continental Railways consortium to speed up the construction of the £3bn fast link to the Channel tunnel. 30-Oct-1997 Railtrack and Virgin Rail have agreed a £2.1bn plan to double the capacity on the west coast route between London and Glasgow which will allow for the use of 140mph tilting trains. 29-Oct-1997 Railtrack has made its first move into the international bond market with a £300m offering to help fund its £10bn investment programme and refinance some of its £2.4bn bank debt. 22-Oct-1997 Railtrack is in discussions with Virgin Rail about the possibility of upgrading the West Coast Main Line to cope with 140mph trains in return for a revenue-sharing agreement. 04-Oct-1997 Railtrack has agreed to an amendment of its licence which will give the rail industry regulator greater powers to control its investment programme, with the prospect of unlimited fines if it fails to deliver on its promises. 30-Jul-1997 Railtrack and Jarvis have resolved their dispute over pricing, with Jarvis agreeing to reduce prices for certain track maintenance work. 26-Jul-1997 Railtrack has announced that it will begin discussions with the rail regulator next week about its investment plans, which include £8.3bn to renew existing infrastructure, £5.7bn for daily maintenance, and £1.9bn to increase capacity. 25-Jul-1997 Railtrack is preparing plans to upgrade rail lines between Glasgow and the Channel Tunnel to enable them to take "piggyback" wagons carrying road trailers, at a cost of £250m. 23-Jun-1997 Railtrack is to start building a £12m station next month to serve Luton airport, with completion scheduled for June 1998. 12-Jun-1997 Railtrack has announced plans to spend £1bn updating most of the UK's 2,500 railway stations, with the largest amounts being spent at Paddington, Waterloo, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley. 21-May-1997 Railtrack has announced a ten-point plan to boost rail freight, including greater capacity, higher speed links, improved terminals and investment in information systems. 18-Apr-1997 Railtrack has announced plans to invest £16bn on track, stations and signalling systems over the next ten years, in response to accusations from the rail regulator that it is not meeting its investment targets. 21-Feb-1997 Railtrack has reached agreement with English Welsh & Scottish Railway which will give EWS a formula for calculating track access costs, thus enabling it to provide instant quotations to freight customers. 25-Jan-1997 Railtrack has been warned by the railway regulator to speed up its investment in track, signalling and stations. 17-Jan-1997 Railtrack is planning to build a rail station at Stockley Park near Heathrow, in order to provide links to the airport from the West Country and the Thames valley. 28-Oct-1996 Railtrack is opening a private doctor's surgery at Victoria station in London which will be run by Medicentre, and represents the start of moves to expand its retail, leisure and other services at big stations. 19-Aug-1996 Railtrack is expected to award £760m worth of contracts to a group comprising Kier, Bovis, John Laing, YJ Lovell and Taylor Woodrow, to improve rundown railway stations. 17-May-1996 The government has set the sale value of Railtrack at up to £1.95bn when it lists on the London stock exchange on May 20. 02-May-1996 Transig, the consortium of ABB-Daimler Benz and Westinghouse Signals, and another consortium comprising GEC Alsthom and Siemens, have won contracts from Railtrack to develop a train control system for the main west coast railway line. 03-Apr-1996 Railtrack is arranging a £2bn - £2.5bn loan facility with BZW to fund its investments over the next five years, and needs to complete the arrangements before its flotation in May. 15-Mar-1996 Railtrack has vowed to improve its safety procedures following a critical report from the Safety Inspectorate. 08-Mar-1996 The government has approved a £650m plan for Thameslink 2000 to expand London's north-south rail links, with Railtrack to pay £550m of the construction costs. 28-Feb-1996 Railtrack will be expected to compensate train operators with as much as £59m this year for delays to services caused by track and signalling problems. 24-Jan-1996 Railtrack expects a 30% cut in investment costs after it is privatised as it will not be forced to plan its spending annually. 24-Jan-1996 The government has said that Railtrack shares will be sold nationally through share shops next May. 04-Jan-1996 Railtrack has announced plans to spend £10bn on improving the rail network in a 10-year investment programme. 18-Dec-1995 The information above comes from the UK Activity Report Copyright UK Business Park 1995-2007