Network Rail announces key National Centre contract

Network Rail’s plans to bring up to 3,000 employees together under one eco-friendly roof took another step forward as BAM Construction was awarded the main contract to build the company’s new National Centre in Milton Keynes.

Artist's impression of the National Centre at Milton Keynes

The National Centre will save Network Rail nearly £20m every year as the amount of office space it rents at a number of locations across the country will be greatly reduced.

The new centre will create additional further benefits as bringing Network Rail’s national functions together in one place will improve teamwork and planning, and provide better support to the route and area teams across the country.

Network Rail’s chief executive Iain Coucher said: “Now that we have BAM Construction on board, building work can begin next month to bring our new National Centre to Milton Keynes.

“Once completed, the new National Centre will, for the first time, unite many of our national teams and functions under one roof, helping us to work more effectively together in meeting the challenges of delivering a better, more efficient railway for passengers and freight.”

Nigel Comben, Director of BAM Construction in the South East, said: “This is an ambitious and exciting project with a premier client in Network Rail, to be constructed in a location of importance. BAM Construction is delighted to have been selected to deliver this fantastic facility for Network Rail.

“We will bring to it the same attention to detail and thoughtful approach to the construction as our other major projects in Milton Keynes and indeed for the local community. Network Rail is a very important client for BAM and we look forward to enhancing that relationship through this project.”

The new National Centre is being constructed with sustainability in mind and the development has been awarded a BREEAM Excellent design stage rating, underlining the building’s environmental credentials.

The development will take advantage of a range of measures designed to regulate temperature and reduce energy use, including optimising the building’s orientation and facade, narrow floor plans, high overhanging soffits to provide shade, and natural ventilation which are all complemented by very high efficiency, low carbon systems.

The National Centre will also include extensive ‘living’ roofs to greatly enhance and encourage diverse habitats for flora and fauna, and sizable rainwater harvesting systems will be used to flush toilets and irrigate the plants.

Network Rail will also recycle material from the National Hockey Stadium which used to occupy the site and will source as much material as locally as possible to help limit the number of lorries and further reduce the development’s carbon footprint.

www.networkrail.co.uk