📋 Tender Overview
Project Reach, A New Ground-Breaking Partnership Between Network Rail, Neos Networks And Freshwave, Will See An End To The Worst Signal Blackspots On The Major Rail Arteries Of Britain As The Companies Join Forces To Provide The Biggest Upgrade To BritainS Rail Telecoms Infrastructure In Decades, Benefitting Millions Of Rail Passengers, Establishing The Beginnings Of A New High-Capacity Telecoms Infrastructure For Great British Railways To Take Forward And Build Upon, And Supporting The Digital Ambitions Of The NationS Businesses. Heidi Alexander, Secretary Of State For Transport The Project Will Initially See Neos Networks Deploy 1,000 Kilometres Of Ultrafast, High-Count* Fibre Optic Cable Laid Along Lengths Of The East Coast Main Line (The Route From KingS Cross To Newcastle), The Chiltern Main Line And Part Of The West Coast Main Line To Manchester (The Route From Marylebone To Birmingham And Then Via The West Midlands To Stafford And On To Manchester) And The Great Western Main Line (The Route From London To Cardiff). There Is An Ambition To Grow The Network To Beyond 5,000Km In The Future. Jeremy Westlake, Network RailS Chief Financial Officer Freshwave, Working Closely With The Mobile Network Operators (Mnos), Will Initially Deploy Mobile Infrastructure To Tackle Signal Blackspots In 57 Tunnels (Covering Almost 50Km) And Associated Deep Cuttings Along The East Coast Main Line, The West Coast Main Line And The Great Western Main Line. This Includes The 4Km-Long Chipping Sodbury Tunnel Near Bristol And Gasworks And Copenhagen Tunnels Outside KingS Cross. Freshwave, And The Mnos, Will Also Invest In New 4G/5G Infrastructure At 12** Network Rail Main Line Stations. This Is A Multi-Year Project With The First Installation Of Mobile Infrastructure Expected To Begin In 2026. The Enhanced Network (Currently 48 Count Cable, Moving To 432 Count*) Will Also Enable Network Rail To Monitor Railway Assets More Effectively And Facilitate The Rollout Of New Technologies That Rely On Better Connectivity. This Includes Trackside Sensors And Cctv Applications, Paving The Way For A More Joined-Up Railway With Faster And More Reliable Train Services For Passengers, As Well As Improved Safety For Railway Workers. The ProjectS Innovative Commercial Model Brings Together Public And Private Sector Investment And Infrastructure. This Is Expected To Save Taxpayers Around Ps300 Million While Delivering Substantial Benefits To Rail Users. Neos Networks, A Leading B2B Telecoms Provider, Backed By Infracapital And Sse, Will Deploy High-Count Fibre Trackside In Return For Commercialising Spare Fibre, Upgrading Network RailS Critical Telecoms Infrastructure To Provide Future Capacity Required To Enable A Suite Of Digitally Driven Railway Benefits. The Scheme Will Also Create A High-Performing Digital Connectivity Backbone For Businesses, Providing Connectivity To Data Centres And High-Performance Edge Facilities, Supporting The UkS Digital Ambitions And Driving Innovation. Lee Myall, Ceo Of Neos Networks Freshwave, As Uk Mobile Connectivity Specialists, Will Work With The Mnos To Target Investment To Address Mobile Coverage Not-Spots In Rail Tunnels And Upgrade Wireless Infrastructure At Key Railway Stations, Enabling The Mnos To Offer Enhanced Signal Coverage For Customers. Simon Frumkin, Ceo Of Freshwave Greg Mccall, Chief Networks Officer At Bt Group (Ee) Dr Robert Joyce, Director Of Mobile Access Engineering At O2, Andrea Dona, Chief Network Officer At Vodafonethree About Neos Networks Neos Networks Has The UkS Largest Business-Dedicated Network. With Over 600 Points Of Presence And 90 Data Centres Nationwide, Neos Provides High-Capacity Critical Connectivity For Businesses, From Telecoms And Energy To Banking And Emergency Services. Agile And Customer-Focused With Almost Limitless Scale, Neos Enables Emerging Technologies Like Ai, 5G And Iot, Making Connectivity Work For Britain. About Freshwave Freshwave Invest Expertise And Capital In Ways That Make Digital Infrastructure Remarkably Simple. Faster, Less Costly And In The Right Places. TheyRe The Connectivity Infrastructure-As-A-Service Provider Bringing Mobile Operators, Central And Local Government, And Real Estate Providers Together To Work In New Ways. Their Managed Sites Include Some Of The Biggest, Most Challenging Wireless Environments In The Uk, Including Several Central London Boroughs And Docklands. With 5,000+ Mast Site Locations, 2,000+ Buildings Connected And 200+ Outdoor Networks Supported, They Ensure Everyone Has A Network. Backed By Digitalbridge, A Leading Global Investment Firm Dedicated To Digital Infrastructure, Freshwave Benefits From Deep Expertise In Owning, Operating, And Investing Across The Full Spectrum Of Digital Assets. To Learn More, Visit Www.Freshwavegroup.Com Passengers / Community Members Network Rail National Helpline 03457 11 41 41 Latest Travel Advice Please Journalists Network Rail Press Office - National 020 3356 8700 We Own, Operate And Develop BritainS Railway Infrastructure; ThatS 20,000 Miles Of , 30,000 And The Thousands Of , Level Crossings And Stations. We Run 20 Of The UkS Largest While All The Others, Over 2,500, Are Run By The CountryS . Usually, There Are Almost Five Million Journeys Made In The Uk And Over 600 Freight Trains Run On The Network. People Depend On BritainS Railway For Their Daily Commute, To Visit Friends And Loved Ones And To Get Them Home Safe Every Day. Our Role Is To Deliver , So We Carefully Manage And Deliver Thousands Of Projects Every Year That Form Part Of The , To Grow And Expand The NationS Railway Network To Respond To The Tremendous Growth And Demand The Railway Has Experienced - A Doubling Of Passenger Journeys Over The Past 20 Years. Follow Us On Twitter: Visit Our Online Newsroom:
