It will be working in partnership with Aecom, CH2M, Stobart Rail and Siemens.
BAM, which only recently completed the £294m Borders Railway project, will now oversee delivery of the Aberdeen-Inverness improvement project. The first phase is due for completion in 2019.
Work involves upgrading to double-track 16 miles of line between Aberdeen and Inverurie and upgrading signalling. A new station will be built at Forres and the railway alignment straightened. Platforms at Insch and Elgin will be extended to accommodate longer trains. And infrastructure will be installed to allow new stations to be built at Dalcross and Kintore.
Plans for new stations at Dalcross and Kintore are being developed separately by Highlands & Islands Strategic Transport Partnership (Hitrans) and North East of Scotland Transport Partnership (Nestrans) respectively as a further phase of the Aberdeen-Inverness improvement project is to be developed.
Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: “BAM’s appointment is the first step on a journey that will deliver significant benefits for the north and northeast of Scotland. Reduced journey times and the ability to run bigger trains with more seats will transform customers’ experience of rail travel.”
BAM framework director Jerry Dickson said: “This essential programme of works will improve connectivity between the major cities of Aberdeen and Inverness, with wider enhancements for the local communities in the north of Scotland. We are particularly proud to have been awarded this contract in our 150th anniversary year, which has also seen BAM and Network Rail successfully re-open the Borders Railway, which is now providing an essential rail link between Edinburgh and the Scottish Borders.”
Subcontractors are currently carrying out ground investigation, site survey and vegetation clearance works on the line as part of the project and main construction works will begin in spring 2016
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