The joint venture between Carillion and Buckingham Group Contracting will design and build the new section of line for alternative link between Oxford and London and the East West Rail scheme to Bedford and Milton Keynes.
The firms will build a new one-kilometre section of railway to connect the Bicester Town to Oxford line to the Chiltern main line.
As a result of the project, the existing track bed will be widened and a new station at Oxford Parkway will be built, apart from the upgrade of Bicester Town and Islip stations and installation of a new signalling system.
A second phase will immediately follow after the completion of the Oxford to London line and the western phase of the East West Rail scheme. The further works will see the reconstruction of disused tracks between Bletchey and Claydon junction, and the creation of a new station at Winslow.
Upon its completion, the line will be the first new rail link between London and a major UK city for the past 100 years.
Mark Davies, managing director of Carillion Infrastructure, said: “We are delighted to have been selected to deliver this important contract that in itself facilitates two strategically important rail links, one between Oxford and London and another as the first phase of the East West Rail Scheme.”
Mike Kempley, managing director of Buckingham Group Contracting, said: “Over the lifetime of the project we will create new engineering jobs and once complete the project will deliver major improvements to the transport infrastructure across a wide area and deliver significant socio-economic benefits for Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire.”
Network Rail route managing director, Dyan Crowther, said: “The new Oxford to London line and wider East West Rail scheme will deliver significant economic, social and environmental benefits to Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and beyond.
“Thanks to the hard work of Carillion and Buckingham Group Contracting, we have been able to employ a regional business to help deliver the scheme, further boosting the local economy and providing jobs to local people.”
Photo: Construction Index
