Re Contract

Balfour Beatty PLC
23 June 2003

BALFOUR BEATTY APPOINTED PREFERRED BIDDER BY NETWORK RAIL FOR RENEWALS CONTRACTS
LIKELY TO BE WORTH APPROXIMATELY £90 MILLION PER ANNUM



Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services
company, announces today that Balfour Beatty Rail Infrastructure Services has
been appointed preferred bidder by Network Rail for a number of five-year plain
line track and switch and crossings renewals contracts due to begin in April of
next year.  These contracts are likely, in aggregate, to be worth approximately
£90 million per year.  There is an option for the contracts to be extended by a
further five years.

The contracts involved are for plain line track renewals in Anglia and Southern
Regions and switches and crossings renewals in London North Eastern, Anglia and
Scotland and in the Southern Region.

Commenting today on these awards, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive Officer, Mike
Welton, said:  'We are delighted to become preferred bidder for a substantial
proportion of the new renewals programme aimed at improving the condition of
Network Rail's assets.  We look forward to working with Network Rail in
improving the efficiency of renewals delivery and helping to deliver a safe and
efficient railway.'

The plain line contracts are for the replacement and renewal of life-expired
sections of track, typically from 100m to 3,000m in length.  Switches and
crossing contracts are for replacement and renewal work at junctions.


Enquiries to:-

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


Notes to Editors:


Balfour Beatty is a major supplier to Network Rail.  In addition to its
maintenance and renewals work, it is the UK's principal manufacturer of switches
and crossings, supplies specialist plant and equipment and carries out major
rail project development including, currently, the electrification of the West
Coast Main Line and substantial work on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link.

About half of Balfour Beatty's rail work is undertaken outside the UK.  The
Group has substantial rail business presences in the USA, Germany, Italy,
Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Greece, Brazil and Malaysia.


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