AECOM has acquired a 30% equity interest in SLC Rail, a UK-based SME operating in the rail sector. 

AECOM and SLC Rail have a well-established and long-standing working relationship on multiple projects in the UK. The investment deepens the relationship, positioning both organisations to jointly pursue future rail programme, route upgrade and station delivery opportunities from the strongest possible position.

The companies will use their complementary service offerings to accelerate the innovative, faster and lower cost delivery of rail enhancements resulting from SLC’s approach to the market, combining SLC’s strengths in programme initiation and development with AECOM’s global engineering, programme management and station design expertise.   

Rail will play an integral role in both the decarbonisation of the UK’s transport network and the UK government’s levelling up agenda to build a more balanced economy, improving access to jobs, stimulating economic growth and unlocking housing. 

This is fuelled, in parallel, by a rise in new approaches to infrastructure delivery for regionally important transport projects, including new stations, new rail services and restored railway lines. There is growing market demand for SLC’s expertise in working with local authorities and regional government organisations to help create and implement rail strategies and explore alternative development and delivery methods.

“SLC Rail is an outstanding SME with whom we have a strong existing relationship, and our teams are collaborating today to successfully deliver a number of strategic regional rail programmes,” said Mark Southwell, AECOM’s managing director of its Civils Infrastructure, UK & Ireland business. “There is substantial potential to apply our joint approach to more programmes, helping to regenerate regions, towns and cities across the UK. AECOM’s investment in SLC strengthens our value proposition to clients, bringing a new approach that will enhance the delivery of vital rail schemes effectively and with pace.”

“Our successful and long-standing partnership with AECOM over the past few years has already seen us positively shape the future of rail infrastructure project developments through our involvement with the Northumberland Line and Project SPEED,” said Ian Walters, managing director of SLC Rail. “As we look to the future, it is clear that the levelling up agenda and initiatives like the Restoring Your Railways programme that will reinstate previously eliminated local services and restore closed stations will offer many opportunities for both SLC and AECOM. This investment is going to help us make more rail projects happen, increasing the prosperity of regions up and down the country.”

AECOM and SLC are already jointly delivering strategically important rail projects, including the Northumberland Line and the West Midlands Rail Programme. The Northumberland Line is the biggest third-party rail upgrade project in the UK directly developed and promoted by a local authority and is part of the government’s Project SPEED initiative to deliver infrastructure faster.