UK: Network Rail has awarded contracts to run its autumn and winter rail treatment trains.
The contracts worth £850m cover the operation of weedkilling, leaf-blasting, anti-ice and snow ploughing trains for five years from August 2025, with optional extensions for up to three years.
GB Railfreight will run Network Rail’s Multi-Purpose Vehicles in the north, and Balfour Beatty in the south. The 32 MPVs use water jets to remove leaf mulch from the railhead and apply adhesion modifier in autumn, anti-ice fluid in winter and some herbicide.
Colas and GB Railfreight will operate the 29 locomotive-hauled Rail Head Treatment Trains designed for longer runs than the MPVs.
The 10 snow and ice treatment trains will be managed by GB Railfreight, and Colas will be responsible for running snow clearance services.
The contracts are designed to facilitate the introduction of further vehicles, including six MPVs to be re-engineered from overhead line use to ease pressure on the existing fleet, and to support the deployment of new technologies as they are developed.
‘Running trains reliably and safely in autumn and winter is a tough challenge and we rely heavily on specialist operators and equipment’, said Network Rail’s Supply Chain Delivery Director Adam Southern on April 29.
‘These contracts with established hauliers see our fleet of treatment trains maintained and run well for the next five years at least, providing passengers and freight customers with a reliable service whatever the weather.’
