First GBRf has been awarded a new contract by the Balfour Beatty Carillion Joint Venture (BBCJV) working on behalf of Transport for London (TfL) as part of the £10 billon Investment Programme to upgrade the rail network in and around London.

The contract, which will run from January to the end of October 2008 will see First GBRf working in partnership with BBCJV to transport construction materials to convert London Underground’s East London Line between Whitechapel and New Cross into part of TfL’s London Overground rail network. The line closed to passengers just before Christmas 2007 to enable preparations for the conversion to begin.

Phil Amos, Business Development Manager at First GBRf said: “We are delighted to have won this prestigious contract for the upgrade of part of London’s rail network. In the solution package we presented to BBCJV, we were able to demonstrate First GBRf’s key strengths of reliability and flexibility and offer a competitive package that was tailored to the specific requirements of the project. We are now looking forward to delivering the contract and establishing First GBRf’s reputation further in this market. ”

With the East London Line having no direct link to Network Rail, all First GBRF locomotives and freight wagons have had to be delivered to site by road and craned on to the ELL infrastructure. First GBRf, renowned for providing flexible and innovative solutions for its customers were seen as the perfect partner for the project over the coming months.

As part of the contract, First GBRf will supply drivers, locomotives and wagons to help to re-build the line. The locomotives will be a fleet of Ruston LSSH engines, hired from Knights Rail Services and formerly used by the Ministry of Defence. A mixed fleet of wagons will be used to deliver concrete sleepers, rail and other, track components and to remove the old ballast and track panels from the railway.

Although First GBRf has an established record in infrastructure transportation for Network Rail and Metronet, the new contract with BBCJV represents the largest contract win for a specific Infrastructure Project for the freight haulier to date.