VolkerRail

VolkerRail is a specialist railway infrastructure contractor headquartered in Doncaster, England, and owned by the Netherlands-based construction and engineering group VolkerWessels. Its work covers the physical and systems infrastructure that allows railways and urban tram networks to operate, including permanent-way construction and maintenance, track renewals, switches and crossings, signalling, overhead line equipment, railway power, rail welding, coatings and associated project delivery. The business serves both national railway infrastructure and urban transport systems, with activity reported across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The company’s industrial roots reach back to 1935, when predecessor operations began working as railway contractors. Its more direct corporate history began under British Steel ownership through Grant Lyon Eagre Ltd. In 1996, Grant Lyon Eagre joined forces with the Dutch railway contractor Railbouw, building on earlier cooperation on London Underground track-renewal work. The combined business traded as GrantRail and subsequently developed a broader group of specialist subsidiaries. These included GrantPlant, GrantRail Signalling, GrantRail Power, ALH Rail Coatings and GrantWeld, established or brought together during the early 2000s. In 2006, GrantRail expanded its electrical and power capabilities through the acquisition of Matrix Power. Ownership changed decisively in late 2008, when VolkerWessels acquired Corus’s remaining interest and became the company’s sole owner. On 2 March 2009, GrantRail was renamed VolkerRail, with the operating divisions also adopting names aligned with the new ownership structure. The rebrand placed the business within VolkerWessels’ wider multidisciplinary construction and civil-engineering platform while preserving its specialist rail identity. Gren Edwards, who had led the company for 18 years, stepped down in February 2010. VolkerRail’s project history includes major conventional railway, underground, light-rail and industrial railway assignments. Its earlier GrantRail-era work included the Nuneaton remodelling and resignalling programme, which combined track, switches and crossings, signalling and overhead electrification works to increase capacity on the West Coast Main Line. The company also delivered railway works at the Ministry of Defence’s Bicester distribution site and installed track for Nottingham Express Transit, including embedded street track and off-street alignments. Other work has involved the Hull Docks branch, where track, structures and signalling were upgraded to accommodate increased freight traffic, and long-running permanent-way maintenance at the Tata steelworks in Scunthorpe. The company has also participated in joint ventures for complex transport programmes. With Trackwork, its GTJV partnership undertook a large London Underground track-renewal contract covering parts of the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines. With Skanska, the Skanska GrantRail Joint Venture delivered major packages for the Docklands Light Railway extension to Stratford International. In the M-Pact Thales consortium with Laing O’Rourke and Thales, VolkerRail contributed to the expansion of Greater Manchester’s Metrolink. Its later activities have included maintenance and renewal work on the Sheffield Supertram network. VolkerRail is therefore positioned less as a consumer-facing brand than as a technical infrastructure and project-delivery business. Its value proposition rests on integrated railway engineering capability, specialist plant and materials expertise, maintenance experience, and the ability to work within joint ventures on large, safety-critical transport programmes.

VolkerRail developed from a British railway contracting business whose roots are traced to 1935. A key predecessor was Grant Lyon Eagre Ltd, which operated as a subsidiary of British Steel. In 1996, Grant Lyon Eagre formed a partnership with the Dutch contractor Railbouw, drawing on previous cooperation in London Underground track-renewal work. The resulting business was known as GrantRail. During the early 2000s, GrantRail broadened its technical base by creating or incorporating specialist operations for plant, signalling, power, rail coatings and welding. GrantPlant Ltd, GrantRail Signalling Ltd, GrantRail Power Ltd, ALH Rail Coatings Ltd and GrantWeld Ltd were established in 2002. In September 2006, GrantRail acquired Matrix Power Ltd, strengthening its capabilities in electrical and railway power work. The business delivered a range of significant projects before its rebranding. At Nuneaton, it undertook a substantial track and signalling upgrade involving new switches and crossings, plain-line track, signalling installations, overhead-line structures and conductors. The programme was completed in 2008 and was intended to support higher speeds and increased capacity on the route between London Euston and Glasgow. GrantRail Projects also modernised railway sidings at the Ministry of Defence’s Bicester site, replacing older track and sleepers in a security-controlled operating environment. VolkerRail’s urban transport record includes track installation for Nottingham Express Transit. The work covered both embedded street-running track and off-street railway, with multiple crossings, crossovers and turnouts. The company also participated in major London Underground renewal work through the GrantRail-Trackwork joint venture, and in Docklands Light Railway extension packages through a partnership with Skanska. These projects demonstrated the company’s role in multidisciplinary programmes involving track, stations, alignment, systems interfaces and operational railway constraints. In late 2008, VolkerWessels bought Corus’s remaining interest in GrantRail and assumed complete ownership. The company was renamed VolkerRail on 2 March 2009, and its divisions were similarly renamed. The new identity connected the railway specialist with VolkerWessels’ wider construction and civil-engineering group while retaining the established rail business and its technical subsidiaries. Gren Edwards, who had been at the head of the company for 18 years, left the leadership in February 2010. Subsequent work described for the business includes the Greater Manchester Metrolink Phase 3a expansion through the M-Pact Thales consortium, permanent-way maintenance at Tata’s Scunthorpe steelworks, upgrades at Hull Docks and track renewal on Sheffield Supertram. These assignments span freight, industrial, heavy rail, underground and tramway environments. VolkerRail’s historical development consequently reflects a transition from a steel-industry-linked railway contractor into an integrated rail infrastructure services company operating within the VolkerWessels group.

• 2009

  VolkerRail brand launched

  [1]VolkerRailen.wikipedia.org

  GrantRail formally adopted the VolkerRail name on 2 March 2009.

• 2008

  Full VolkerWessels ownership

  [1]VolkerRailen.wikipedia.org

  VolkerWessels acquired Corus’s remaining interest in the business.

• 2006

  Matrix Power acquired

  [1]VolkerRailen.wikipedia.org

  GrantRail acquired Matrix Power to expand its electrical and power capabilities.

• 2002

  Specialist divisions established

  [1]VolkerRailen.wikipedia.org

  GrantRail developed dedicated operations for plant, signalling, power, coatings and welding.

• 1996

  Grant Lyon Eagre and Railbouw combine

  [1]VolkerRailen.wikipedia.org

  Grant Lyon Eagre joined with Railbouw, creating the GrantRail business and building on earlier London Underground cooperation.

• 1935

  Predecessor railway contracting roots

  [1]VolkerRailen.wikipedia.org

  The company traces its origins as a railway contractor to 1935.

A specialist, integrated railway infrastructure contractor combining track, systems, electrification, power and maintenance capabilities for mainline, underground, light-rail and industrial railway clients.

• Railway infrastructure

  Track and permanent way

  VolkerRail constructs, renews and maintains railway track, including plain line, switches, crossings, turnouts and associated formation work. Its projects have covered national mainline routes, underground railways, light rail, tramways and industrial railway networks. The service can include design, possession planning, installation, recovery of redundant assets and long-term maintenance.

• Rail systems

  Signalling and railway power

  The business provides signalling, railway electrical and power-related infrastructure as part of integrated rail projects. Its historical structure included dedicated signalling and power divisions, while its project portfolio has combined track works with signalling installations and electrical systems to improve capacity, reliability and operational performance.

• Rail electrification

  Overhead line electrification

  VolkerRail delivers overhead line equipment work, including the installation of support structures and conductors. Its Nuneaton programme included the erection of new overhead-line structures and installation of substantial conductor lengths. Such work forms part of wider electrification, route-modernisation and capacity-enhancement programmes.

• Urban rail

  Urban tram and light-rail infrastructure

  VolkerRail installs and renews track for tram and light-rail systems, including embedded street-running track, ballasted track and directly fixed track. Its cited work includes Nottingham Express Transit, Greater Manchester Metrolink and Sheffield Supertram, requiring coordination with roads, stations, signalling, utilities and live public transport operations.

• 2009

  Rebrand from GrantRail to VolkerRailStrategy

  Background

  VolkerWessels became the company’s sole owner after acquiring Corus’s remaining interest in late 2008.

  Action taken

  The business and its operating divisions were renamed under the VolkerRail identity on 2 March 2009.

  Aftermath

  The rebrand integrated the railway contractor more visibly into the VolkerWessels group while retaining its specialist rail-services focus.

  Source

1. 1VolkerRailen.wikipedia.org
2. 2VolkerRail official websitevolkerrail.nl