Linbrooke Rail MD: Delivering on the opportunities available from Network Rail

Linbrooke Rail is at the forefront of Network Rail’s transformation of the railways. The specialists in telecoms, power and signalling are on a number of CP6 frameworks for Network Rail, and are engaged in the Eastern Region through the Signalling and Telecoms framework.

To accelerate ahead in the industry, the company appointed Martin Wright as Managing Director at Linbrooke Rail, bringing a wealth of knowledge and years of experience of managing multi-disciplinary projects across the UK’s railway network.

Drawn by the opportunity to work at a top tier supplier which is built on a solid history and that is renowned for employing high calibre industry experts which accelerate the UK’s railway transformation, Martin has spoken with railbusinessdaily.com about how things have been going and the relationship with Network Rail, as he nears his three-month anniversary.

“It’s definitely been an interesting introduction to the company, spending the first eight weeks working from home, but we’re starting to get back to the offices now and I’m meeting people face to face for the first time.” he said.

“Although initially Linbrooke had to stand down on site for a while, we were quick to risk assess and put measures in place to ensure safe working for our people.”

“We were able to get back out on site quickly and managed to complete between 60% and 80% of our planned work during April and May.”

It’s a good job too, as Linbrooke has a major role to play for Network Rail during the CP6 period. The company is on the Signalling and Telecoms framework in the Eastern Region and the Major Signalling and Enhancements Framework in the Western and Wales Region.

Martin, who joined Linbrooke following high-profile roles at Alstom, ABC Electrification, Colas Rail UK and Invensys, said: “I’ve worked as a delivery partner to Network Rail for many years and recently, particularly in the Eastern region, I’ve seen a drive to work closer with the Supply Chain and bring added value through earlier engagement and good use of the Framework contracts.

“Network Rail have a challenging delivery target for CP6 and they’ve got a lot of work they need to get done on the railway.

“Working closer with suppliers through frameworks means it is easier to initiate projects and we can work together to achieve the quality of enhancements projects which will improve the railway.

“With a framework supplier you can be confident you’ve got the right value for money solution and can concentrate on delivery of a quality product.

“Where a framework is really effective is during the project initiation phases where the supplier can bring their constructability experience to the fore without the constraints required by a formal procurement process.”

Linbrooke was established in Sheffield in 2002 and has since gone on to grow considerably with its ‘right first time’ ethos and collaborative approach throughout the nation and the globe.

Around 40% of its workforce come from disciplined military backgrounds. Martin himself was a bomb disposal officer in the

British Army in Iraq and Afghanistan, prior to the last decade he has spent working in rail.

He said: “When I joined, I knew Linbrooke had great potential as a business. The company has grown significantly in the last five or six years, partnered with a good OEM supplier in Hitachi, and has won a number of frameworks, so the potential to win work was fantastic.

“My aim is to grow Linbrooke as a business and develop them as a Tier one contractor. With a background in delivering £100 million plus signalling projects I can use this experience to help build solid foundations and a high calibre team to deliver these complex projects.

“I believe strongly that a good relationship with Network Rail is key and the way to maintain this is to consistently deliver high quality work on site. There is a great opportunity for Linbrooke in CP6 because of the number of framework contracts we have secured and I am looking forward to a successful few years delivering interesting projects.”

Martin Wright as Managing Director at Linbrooke Rail

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