Preferred Bidder

Balfour Beatty PLC
4 February 2002

BALFOUR BEATTY APPOINTED PREFERRED BIDDER FOR £200 MILLION THAMESLINK 2000 POWER
                                    CONTRACT

Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services group,
is pleased to announce today that it has been appointed preferred bidder for the
Permanent Way and Electrification Infrastructure Package contract for Thameslink
2000, a contract eventually likely to be worth at least £200 million.

The company has begun work on the project development and definition stage of
the contract, which will be the largest single package in the Thameslink 2000
infrastructure improvement programme.

Commenting on the award, Mike Welton, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, said:

'We are delighted to have been selected to carry out the largest contract on
this vital project, which will create dedicated Thameslink routes through
London, facilitating a threefold increase in the hourly capacity for Thameslink
trains to travel through the capital.

'The contract, which requires new trackwork, track renewals, electrification,
power supply reinforcement and installation, rail plant operation and
maintenance expertise, amply demonstrates Balfour Beatty's unrivalled range of
engineering capabilities in the rail sector.'

David Howarth, Railtrack's General Manager for the Thameslink 2000 programme,
said:

'I am very pleased to announce the award of this contract to Balfour Beatty.
This is a further significant step forward for the programme and we look forward
to working with the Balfour Beatty team to deliver a substantial and vital part
of the overall programme.'

Thameslink 2000 is a major infrastructure project to expand and improve the
existing Thameslink route which connects London's suburban and south coast
routes with Luton and Bedford to the north.

The enhanced Thameslink network will not only facilitate the operation of more
and longer trains on the existing routes, but will also extend the services to
Peterborough and King's Lynn in the north and Guildford and Ashford in the
south.

Award of the contract will mean that Balfour Beatty will be responsible for the
overall and detailed design and installation of all track, power supplies and
electrification and assessing and adapting and strengthening existing
structures, some of which date back to the Victorian era. Balfour Beatty will
provide Railtrack with a 'one-stop shop' for a wide range of disciplines and
activities requiring sophisticated and coherent interface management.

The development and definition process begins with immediate effect, with the
principal works scheduled to begin in the summer of 2003, depending on the
outcome of the Public Inquiry into the TWO Order for Thameslink 2000.

Enquiries to:

Tim Sharp
Tel: [phone]
www.balfourbeatty.com

Notes to Editors

1. Balfour Beatty's worldwide turnover in rail engineering and services will be
approximately £800 million in 2002.

2. In the UK, Balfour Beatty Rail is a major supplier to Railtrack, including
major infrastructure development work on the West and East Coast Main Lines in
electrification and infrastructure upgrades; infrastructure services provision
to an annual value of over £200 million, principally in Wessex, Kent and Anglia
& Great Eastern; the manufacture and supply of switches and crossings; the
supply of specialist rail plant; and the provision of specialised technologies
and technical expertise. Balfour Beatty is also undertaking major project work
on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

3. Through Balfour Beatty Rail Power Systems, the company is a leading
international rail electrification and power supply specialist. With annual
sales of €350 million, Balfour Beatty Rail Power Systems has strong market
positions in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Spain, China, Malaysia and South America.

In December of 2001, it acquired the rail electrification project business of
ABB for €42 million. This further strengthened Balfour Beatty Rail Power
Systems's position as market leader for rail electrification and power supply
projects through additional major presences in Italy, Portugal and Greece.

Principal current contracts are the €100 million Harbin-Dalian Line in China,
the €60 million Nurnberg to Ingolstadt Line in Germany, three high-speed line
projects in Italy, the Athens to Thessaloniki line in Greece, the Porto Metro
system, the €24 million Madrid to Barcelona high-speed line in Spain, a €22
million project in Sao Paulo in Brazil and a €21 million main line project from
Qinhuangdao to Shenyang in China.

4. In the USA, Balfour Beatty is a market leader in trackwork through Marta
Track Constructors Inc and Metroplex Corporation and a specialist in signalling
technology and engineering through Balfour Beatty Rail Systems Inc. It was
responsible for the $500 million electrification of the new high-speed
North-East Corridor link between Boston and New Haven for Amtrak.

Current work includes major projects in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, New
Jersey and Pittsburgh. It recently won the first maintenance contract ever let
to an independent contractor in the USA for a heavy freight line in Los Angeles.
Many major rail development projects in the US are currently in the
prequalification and bidding process and federal appropriations for future
high-speed and mass transit rail transportation projects stand at record levels.


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