Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has received a contract worth around £115m from UK’s Network Rail to supply 13 track maintenance vehicles.

Under the seven-year contract, Balfour Beatty will operate and maintain the vehicles, which are known as ‘On Track Machines’ or ‘Tampers’.

Balfour Beatty Rail business managing director Mark Bullock said: “The contract is an important one for both Balfour Beatty and Network Rail as it will ensure the smooth and safe operation of some of the busiest sections of the railway.

“By operating both Tampers and Stoneblowers for Network Rail, Balfour Beatty is uniquely positioned to offer an integrated track geometry service to the routes.”

“Balfour Beatty is uniquely positioned to offer an integrated track geometry service to the routes.”

The company will provide tamping shifts across Anglia and South-East routes, the two most heavily used sections of the UK rail network.

It is also expected to introduce two new On Track Machines for this contract, the first of which will enter service by 2021.

The machines are used to carry out maintenance, renewals and upgrade work on the rail tracks to ensure smooth, efficient and safe train journeys.

They maintain the track by hydraulically lifting them and packing ballast below the rail sleepers to eliminate voids and realign the tracks.

Currently, Balfour Beatty is engaged in multiple rail projects in the UK including the £170m Track Partnership for London Underground, the £50m project for track re-modelling of London Bridge and various Crossrail projects.

Recently, it was awarded another contract by Network Rail to carry out electrification works on the Great Western Mainline route between Cardiff and Bristol Parkway.