Network Rail to revamp communications

A £30m contract with BT will overhaul the train operator's voice and data infrastructure

Network Rail wants to achieve cost efficiencies with voice and data overhaul

Network Rail has signed a £30m deal with BT for the overhaul of its legacy voice and data infrastructure.

The three-year contract will cover all of Network Rail’s several hundred sites, including offices, control centres, depots, signal boxes and level crossings.

The voice and data revamp is part of the train operator’s overall cost reduction and efficiency programme, which includes the rollout of a new IP infrastructure. BT will provide Network Rail with a voice and data wide area network until the IP network goes live.

Once completed, the new network will be incorporated into Network Rail’s Fixed Telecommunications Network (FTN) project, which aims to renew and replace 16,000km of copper cabling and 11,000km of fibre-optic cabling ahead of the launch of a state-of-the-art digital driver-to-signaller radio system.