UK: Network Rail and the Digital Reach Partners consortium of telecoms companies Neos Networks and Freshwave have signed the Project Reach public-private partnership deal which aims to enhance digital connectivity on the rail network.
As well improving mobile phone connectivity, this will futureproof NR’s telecoms infrastructure for its own requirements, including asset monitoring and facilitating the rollout of new technologies such as trackside sensors and CCTV applications.
The consortium’s fibre partner Neos Networks will initially deploy 1 000 km of ultra-fast high-count optic fibre cable along the East Coast Main Line between London King’s Cross and Newcastle, the Chiltern Main Line from London Marylebone to Birmingham and then via the West Coast Main Line to Stafford and Manchester, and along the Great Western Main Line from London Paddington to Cardiff.
Neos Networks will deploy the fibre in return for commercialising spare fibre to create a high-performance backbone for businesses and data centres. There are plans to deploy more than 5 000 km of fibre in the near future.
The consortium’s connectivity partner Freshwave will work with mobile network operators EE, O2 and VodafoneThree to provide 4G mobile coverage, with an upgrade path to 5G, in 57 tunnels totalling almost 50 km as well as associated deep cuttings on the East Coast, West Coast and Great Western main lines.
Mobile network operators will also invest in new 4G/5G infrastructure at Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads, Edinburgh Waverley, Glasgow Central, Leeds, Liverpool Lime Street, Manchester Piccadilly and London’s Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington and Waterloo stations.
An initial portion of £41m of government funding confirmed in the Spending Review will aid procurement and technical development for the project, and the remainder will be allocated to delivery. The first installation of mobile infrastructure is expected to begin in 2026 and be fully rolled out by 2028.
NR will provide a £100m capital contribution to support initial deployment, and pay for communication services with an estimated value of £85m-£95m. Revenue from the consortium’s use and commercial exploitation of the new networks is estimated at £740m for the concessionaire partners.
The concession runs for 37 years, with an option to renew for a further 30 years and an extension of the initial term by up to 10 years if the renewal option is not exercised.
‘This investment model will deliver the necessary upgrades to our telecoms infrastructure faster whilst offering significant value-for-money for the taxpayer and stimulating wider economic benefits across the country’, said NR’s Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Westlake when the deal was signed on June 26.
‘As we move towards becoming a unified railway with the formation of Great British Railways, the enhanced telecoms infrastructure will play a key role in our ambition to provide a data-driven railway of the future, delivering better connectivity and a better, more reliable train service for our passengers.’
