September saw a wave of major contract awards across the transport and infrastructure sectors. Here is our quick roundup of the biggest developments set to shape projects in the UK and beyond.
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Network Rail has appointed a four-firm alliance, VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke, AtkinsRéalis and Siemens Mobility, to deliver the £1.75 billion Midlands Rail Hub.
Working with Midlands Connect, the West Midlands Rail Executive and the Department for Transport, the team will construct two new rail chords at Bordesley to link the Chiltern main line with the Camp Hill lines.
Early works are expected to begin within the next few years, with the first passenger benefits anticipated in the early 2030s.
Network Rail and WSP are working together to create a new Flood and Coastal Risk Management Framework to improve the railway’s readiness for, and resistance to, potential floods and coastal erosion.
Triggered by a record 1,200 flood incidents in 2023/24, the framework will replace varied regional practices with a consistent, data-driven approach.
Alstom has secured an eight-year, £75m Technical Support & Spares Supply Agreement (TSSSA) with Great Western Railway.
The contract covers maintenance, technical support, and spares provisioning for the 26 Class 175 trains into service across the South West England.
Mace Dragados has appointed Barhale to carry out a new phase of utilities works around Euston station as part of HS2’s enabling works.
Design will begin in late 2025, with construction starting in March 2026 and completion targeted for early 2029. This continues Barhale’s earlier work at Euston, ensuring key utilities are diverted ahead of HS2 station construction.
Carlisle Support Services has been awarded a contract to carry out a major station refresh project across 81 London Overground stations, on behalf of Arriva Rail London for Transport for London. The programme commenced in June 2025 and is due for completion by March 2026, carried out in phases to minimise disruption.
Works include surface preparation, repair, and repainting of public areas such as ticket halls, concourses, staircases, footbridges, platforms and waiting areas.
Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario have awarded the Stations, Rail and Systems (SRS) contract for the Eglinton Crosstown West Extension in Toronto to Trillium Rail Partners under a Development and Master Construction Agreement.
The SRS package covers the design and construction of seven new stations, installation of track, signalling and systems along the 9.2km extension, and modifications at Mount Dennis Station to link with future Line 5.
September saw the MetroLink client team and many senior staff from TII undertake a series of market engagement events to connect with and brief the global supply chain in Dublin, London, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Vienna, Madrid and Istanbul on the upcoming contracts to be procured for the first ever metro line in Dublin.
Lanes Group has won two five-year contracts from TfL to provide track vegetation management, fencing repair, and fence renewal across the London Underground network, together worth about £50m.
The contracts will begin in February 2026.
Colas Rail UK has been awarded a contract by Rail for London Infrastructure (a subsidiary of TfL) to operate and maintain on-track plant machinery for the Elizabeth Line, focusing on the central operating section.
Mitie has won a five-year contract (with a two-year extension option) to provide maintenance services across TfL’s estate. The services cover mechanical, electrical, fire safety, water/gas safety, fabric repair, and structural maintenance. This partnership builds on Mitie’s existing relationship with TfL which provides security services to the transport body.
A £200m contract has been awarded for the delivery of the final major infrastructure phase at SEGRO Logistics Park Radlett. The scope of works includes construction of a rail freight terminal, private estate roads, and preparatory works for up to seven warehouses. The programme also covers key highways improvements – with junction upgrades to the A414 and M25 – together with a new link road designed to bypass Park Street and Frogmore. The scheme will be delivered over a three-year period by a partnership involving Strabag, Galldris, and the Mick George Group.
The UK Government has granted planning consent via a Development Consent Order (DCO) to Gatwick Airport for a £2.2bn project to bring its Northern Runway into full use. The scheme involves shifting the runway 12 metres and expanding the terminals, with the aim of having the runway operational by 2029.
Thames Water has begun the tender process for a £4bn Major Projects Framework to deliver large-scale capital works during its AMP8 investment period, with potential extension into AMP9.
Up to eight contractors will be appointed from March 2026 for an initial seven-year term, covering treatment plant upgrades, new pipelines, pumping stations and related civil engineering across London and the South East.
Bidders must request to participate by 15 October 2025, with awards in March 2026 following a two-stage evaluation, after which mini-competitions will allocate individual projects.
Balfour Beatty has won a £47 million contract from the Waveney, Lower Yare & Lothingland Internal Drainage Board to build new flood and coastal defences near Benacre, Suffolk.
Enabling works began in spring 2025, with main construction starting later this year and completion due in 2030.
South West Water has launched early market engagement for its proposed £1bn Cheddar 2 Reservoir project.
Under a Direct Procurement for Customers delivery model, South West Water intends to appoint a consortium that will design, build, finance and potentially operate and maintain the scheme. The planned works include an 8,200 mega-litre earth-embankment reservoir, a new water treatment works, and about 75 km of potable water transfer pipeline between Bristol and Devon.
The capital cost is estimated at £750 million, with total costs including operations rising to £1 billion over the contract term. Tendering is expected to begin around mid-2027, with final contract award targeted for May 2029.
Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru) has launched a £667 million market-engagement exercise to find a private delivery partner for its Cwm Taf Water Supply Strategy.
The scheme will use a design-build-finance model under Ofwat’s Direct Procurement for Customers framework, and prospective partners are invited to help shape risk allocation, financing, and delivery. The works are planned across two sites: a new treatment works and pumping station at Dan-y-Castel/Pontsticill (£362m) and upgrades at Llwyn-onn (£194m).
The contract award is currently projected for August 2028, with regulatory completion by March 2032, followed by testing and then a 25-year operating term.
Southern Water has opened procurement for its £84m Andover Link Main pipeline scheme, connecting Winchester and Andover with 25km of below ground pipe and upgrades to booster stations.
Southern Water plans to appoint a single principal contractor to deliver design, construction, enabling works, and all consents.
The contract is expected to run from June 2026 to March 2030. Requests to participate must be submitted by 4pm on 27th October and is scheduled to be awarded for May 2026. Find more information here.
Balfour Beatty has been awarded the initial works for the Netherton Hub by SSEN Transmission under its ASTI offshore framework.
The scope includes civil engineering and building works for the Spittal-to-Peterhead HVDC converter station, plus a 400kV substation and a 132kV substation.
Enabling works will begin first, with main construction expected in early 2026.
AtkinsRéalis and Mace Consult have been appointed by EirGrid to a five-year framework (ENQEIR885) to support Ireland’s electricity transmission system. The joint venture was required by EirGrid to provide single entity delivery.
Mace will lead on project/programme management, risk, planning/scheduling, and commercial services, while AtkinsRéalis will deliver engineering, environmental, sustainability, stakeholder management, technical assurance, and consenting services.
Ofgem has shortlisted 77 long-duration electricity storage projects (28.7 GW) for the cap-and-floor scheme, from 171 applications totalling 52.6 GW.
The list includes 71 Track 1 projects (24.5 GW by 2030) and 6 Track 2 (4.2 GW by 2033), mostly lithium-ion but also vanadium flow, pumped hydro, compressed air, and hybrid systems.
The scheme guarantees a revenue “floor” and caps excess profits, balancing investor certainty with consumer protection. Final awards are expected by summer 2026.
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks has awarded a £222.8m, eight-year framework for the construction, refurbishment, and restringing of 33kV, 110kV and 275kV overhead transmission lines across the region.
Lot one (£11.8 m) was awarded to Circet (UK), Grid Team Services, Aureos Energy, Murphy International and TLI Group - covers a rolling programme of refurbishment and emergency response.
Lot two (£211 m) was awarded to Circet (UK), Grid Team Services, Killarney Telecommunications, Murphy International and TLI Group - involves project-specific new-build and upgrade works.
The framework will run for five years with an optional three-year extension. Find more information here.
Saudi Arabia’s Alfanar has committed to a £2bn investment to build the Lighthouse Green Fuels sustainable aviation fuel plant in Teesside’s North Tees industrial cluster.
The plant will tie into the Northern Endurance Partnership’s carbon capture and storage network. The project has already secured £40m in support from the UK Department for Transport’s Advanced Fuels Fund.
SYSTRA has been appointed by Transport for New South Wales to provide Delivery Assurance Specialist services during phase two of the Western Harbour Tunnel project in Sydney.
The project involves constructing a 6.3km road tunnel, three lanes in each direction, linking WestConnex with the Warringah Freeway beneath Sydney Harbour.
Morgan Sindall has won a £126.5m contract under the Ministry of Justice’s Contingency Response Programme.
The contract was awarded to help deliver new prison capacity as part of the MoJ’s plan to create 20,000 extra prison places. Under the deal, Morgan Sindall will undertake justice-sector works to expand or refurbish prison facilities under the government’s contingency framework.
Balfour Beatty has extended its partnership with Rolls-Royce by winning a contract under the fissile construction framework for work at the Raynesway site in Derby.
The scope includes constructing new nuclear-licensed manufacturing and processing facilities, upgrading existing plant infrastructure, and delivering supporting sitewide works.
This award builds on Balfour Beatty’s earlier appointment in 2024 as Rolls-Royce’s non-fissile construction partner for Raynesway expansion.
EY Infrastructure Advisory has been appointed as the Project Delivery Strategic Advisor (PDSA) to the Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) of the Hong Kong SAR Government for the Northern Metropolis programme for the next four years.
Fusion21 has confirmed the selected consultant firms for its new £175m Construction Consultancy Services Framework (2025-29).
The framework is structured across 15 lots covering disciplines such as multidisciplinary consultancy, retrofit, principal designer duties, BIM, architecture, structural & civil engineering, sustainability, and more. The awardees will provide design, advisory and consultancy services to public sector clients including housing providers, local authorities, education, blue light and NHS organisations.
Find a full list of the successful firms here.
Has your company been awarded one of these contracts? Need help building your senior leadership team? Drop me an email at jn@newsomconsulting.co.uk and let’s talk about how we can help.
