Midlands strategic rail freight interchange appoints first delivery partner

One of Europe’s largest new logistics development sites, West Midlands Interchange (WMI), has appointed Winvic Construction as its design stage delivery partner.

The £1bn strategic rail freight interchange (SRFI) at M6 Junction 12, will offer over 8m sq ft of commercial space, supported by a dedicated rail hub enabling multi-modal movement of goods around the UK.

The design stage delivery partner role covering pre-construction services is the first of four phases of the development programme and will be followed by early enabling works, infrastructure works and vertical unit delivery.

The 734 acre site is one of a number of new SRFIs being developed around the UK to enable increasing volumes of freight to move from roads onto the rail network. One rail freight carriage can replace 44 to 72 HGVs, and generating up to 70% less carbon.

The site also boasts a range of other sustainability credentials, including providing 109 acres of country park to protect and promote biodiversity, and a wide range of renewable energy features, as well as providing 8,500 new jobs for the region during its development, construction and operation.

The project is being financed and delivered by Oxford Properties, the property arm of Canadian pension fund OMERS, in partnership with European developer Logistics Capital Partners (LCP).

Andy Busby, UK Construction Director at LCP said, “We are pleased to welcome Winvic to the delivery team. They bring extensive experience of constructing large-scale complex logistics projects and demonstrated a clear understanding of the leading approach we want to take to sustainable design, cutting edge automation, and lasting economic and social impact for the region.

Rob Cook, Winvic’s Director of Civils and Infrastructure added, “As the leading main contractor in the UK for delivering complex Strategic Rail freight Interchange (SRFI) projects, we’re able to draw on our extensive project knowledge and assemble a skilful team to meet requirements, find innovative efficiencies and ultimately deliver the design stage output in a considered and forward-thinking way.”