Skanska has become part of a team of contractors delivering a substantial investment on the UK's busiest railway.

An agreement has been reached between the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, Skanska, Colas Rail, AECOM and Mott MacDonald. The consortium has been appointed to plan and carry out improvements to boost capacity at London Waterloo and other inner London stations.

The railway from London Waterloo carries over half a million passengers every day and more than 222m every year. Waterloo is the UK’s busiest station, with 98m passengers in 2013/14 and a train arriving or departing virtually every minute during peak times.

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The upgrade will include the reopening of the former international terminal at Waterloo for use by regular services.

Christian Roth, Fleet Director of the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, said: "This is an important step forward in our commitment to boost peak time capacity by 30% by 2018. A huge amount of work has already been carried out to improve services and increase capacity but we know we need do to much more. The unique alliance between South West Trains and Network Rail allows a project of this size to be delivered efficiently and it will have a real impact on passengers’ journeys."

James Richardson, speaking on behalf of the consortium of contractors, added: "An investment of this size is excellent news for rail passengers in the region and, of course, an exciting opportunity for our team. Working through a unique collaboration model, we will be able to combine and integrate the skills and expertise of a strong supply chain to deliver this challenging programme."

(IT)