A wrongly laid section of track leads to Mowlem losing West Coast Main Line contract.

Mowlem has been suspended from undertaking track renewals on the West Coast Main Line after Network Rail found it had laid substandard track.

Network Rail said that a train driver had reported a ‘rough ride’ on a section of track near Watford on Monday 10 January. Network Rail engineers found that 300 yards of track had been secured to existing rail by Mowlem with the wrong type of clips causing the track to dip as trains passed over it.

Network Rail rectified the fault and launched an investigation into how the track came to be in this condition. 

It found weaknesses in the management and implementation of the works and made the decision not to renew Mowlem’s West Coast contract when it expired on April 1.

Network Rail said it had suspended Mowlem from carrying out track renewals until “it can demonstrate that it has implemented the improvements needed in its management and working practices".