Xrail Group, the engineering solutions and services provider of engineering services from highly specialised consulting to turnkey project delivery, has won a four-year maintenance contract on a high-speed network in Spain.
The Madrid–Levante high-speed network, which is partially open and partially still under construction, connects Madrid with the Mediterranean coast of the Levante Region. It runs through four Autonomous Communities: Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha, the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia, and is one of the most important high-speed corridors in Spain.
It offers the provincial capitals of Castilla-La Mancha good access to high-speed trains and brings Murcia closer to the Spanish capital, Madrid. The cities along its route will enjoy considerably reduced journey times, making life easier for local commuters. For example, the journey time between Madrid and Valencia has been cut by more than half, from 202 to 90 minutes.
When fully operational, the Madrid–Levante network will total 955km of high-speed rail capable of top speeds of 350km/h.
Over the next four years, starting from 1 January 2021, Xrail has been sub-contracted to deliver 24-hour corrective and preventive maintenance services for the signalling systems and technical buildings, to be delivered by teams across four maintenance centres. The network boasts state-of-the-art digital signalling and communications system, ERTMS levels 1 and 2.
Xrail Group is a leading exporter of British railway expertise. In 2020, the company was recognised by the Department for International Trade as a London Export Champion for its dissemination of railway expertise from the United Kingdom to the Middle East.
Xrail CEO Munir Patel said: “This is another great achievement for Xrail Group and our team. We are delighted and honoured to have been selected as a key maintenance partner by our client for the Madrid-Levante high-speed network.
“This our first major contract win in Spain, and we are extremely proud of it. Our teams have invested significant time, effort and resources to demonstrate the best of British railway engineering can be exported to mainland Europe and we are excited to be given this opportunity by our Client. We look forward to continuing to build on our successful and long-term relationships with our partners across the whole of Europe”.
Rail Minister Chris Heaton Harris commented: “UK engineering is world beating and it is great to see it being so well represented abroad as we build Global Britain.
“XRAIL’s new contract will mean it’s British minds and expertise keeping a major part of Spain’s transport infrastructure running for the coming years.”
