Joint Venture Awarded £140m Maintenance Contract

Carillion PLC
27 January 2000


Carillion joint venture awarded £140 million maintenance
contract for the Preston area


Carillion, the construction to services company, has
reinforced its position as one of the UK's leading rail
maintenance businesses following the award by Railtrack of a
£140 million contract in the North West of England to GTRM -
Carillion's joint venture with Alstom.

The contract for maintenance work in the Preston area, was
awarded after GTRM was chosen as preferred bidder late last
year.  This means that since it demerged from Tarmac last
summer, Carillion and its various partners have either been
awarded or selected as preferred bidder for over £600 million
worth of contracts.

The five year Preston contract includes 572 miles of track,
840 sets of points and over 1,400 signals.   GTRM is currently
responsible for maintenance work on the northern section of
the West Coast Main Line, and this work is included in the new
contract along with the Settle to Carlisle and Settle to
Carnforth lines.

The new style - IMC2000 - contract, which begins in April,
will involve a much closer working relationship between the
contractor and Railtrack with both partners sharing the
opportunities and rewards.

Carillion executive director Roger Robinson says, 'We are
delighted that this contract has been awarded to GTRM.  The
new-style contract will enable us to strengthen our alliance
with Railtrack, through which we can jointly seek ways of
improving quality and performance.

'This is essential to maintaining our position as a
maintenance market leader and currently Railtrack's best
performing maintenance supplier.'

Infrastructure management is one of the three sectors -
together with Private Finance and Services - that Carillion is
focusing on in order to reposition its business in growth
markets with longer term contracts and better quality
earnings.

Further information John Denning or John Davies 01902 422431