Costain wins London contract

In the UK, Costain has been awarded a contract from National Grid for its London Cable Replacement Tunnel.

The contract is worth approximately £200 million (€ 229 million) and forms part of National Grid's investment plans in the capital to ensure a continued safe and reliable electricity transmission network.

The contract is to build a new high voltage electricity cable tunnel between Hackney and Willesden (via Kensal Green) and Kensal Green and Wimbledon. The tunnel is a total of 33 km long.

Work will start later this year, with the tunnelling expected to be completed by end of 2014 and with all associated works completed in November 2018.

Meanwhile, a Costain-Skanska joint venture has begun work on the initial stage of creating the Crossrail rail route that will eventually traverse London. Work has started to create the tunnel portal at Royal Oak, in west London, next to Paddington Station.

When complete in 2017, Crossrail will offer a high-frequency rail route starting at Maidenhead in the west through central London and out to the east, forking to Shenfield, near Brentwood in Essex, and to Abbey Wood in southeast London.

The central section through the capital will require the driving of major new tunnels under the city.