Atkins, Europe’s largest multidisciplinary consultancy, has been awarded a five-year framework agreement, extendable to 10 years by Network Rail.

The signalling framework will initially see Atkins working with Network Rail to develop two major resignalling schemes at Cardiff and Newport, which are potentially worth around £25-30m and £50-60m respectively. Over the next five years the framework will also be used for other as yet unspecified signalling projects. Atkins’ place on the Framework firmly positions the company as one of the UK’s leading signalling engineers.

The work at Newport and Cardiff brings the number of newly won assignments for Atkins in South Wales to three, building on the recently awarded contract at Port Talbot, where the company is undertaking the replacement of 82 signals over 22 miles of line.

David Tonkin, managing director of Atkins Rail, says: "We are already recognised as one of the UK’s leading signalling engineers and our place on the new framework agreement reinforces this position.

"We are proud to be a long established and well trusted supplier to Network Rail and look forward to developing this relationship further as we take on further contracts over the term of the agreement."

Network Rail is in the process of investing almost £2 billion in resignalling work over the next five to eight years to help to improve the performance, safety and cost efficiency of the national railway infrastructure. Other contracts being undertaken by Atkins include a major project in Basingstoke, scheduled for completion in August 2008, which incorporates the design, installation and commissioning of a new signal control centre and 185 new signals covering more than 60 miles of line.