Preferred Bidder

Balfour Beatty PLC
19 September 2001


                    METRONET APPOINTED PREFERRED BIDDER BY

                   LONDON UNDERGROUND FOR SUB-SURFACE LINES



Balfour Beatty, the international engineering, construction and services
group, announces today that Metronet, the consortium in which it has a 20%
shareholding, has been appointed as preferred bidder for the sub-surface lines
Infraco by London Underground under a Public Private Partnership contract.

Metronet is made up of equal partners, Balfour Beatty plc, WS Atkins plc,
Bombardier Transportation (formerly Adtranz), SEEBOARD plc and Thames Water
plc.

Metronet is already preferred bidder for the Bakerloo, Central and Victoria
lines concession.

Under the PPP, Metronet will enter into an Infraco Service Contract with
London Underground for the provision of Infrastructure Services. Metronet's
primary responsibility will be the maintenance and, where appropriate,
enhancement and renewal of the infrastructure that London Underground uses to
deliver its passenger services, including rolling stock, track, signalling,
stations and other civil structures such as tunnels and bridges.

Speaking today, Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Mike Welton, said:

'I am delighted that the Metronet consortium has been given this opportunity
to play a key role in two of the concessions designed to bring much needed
improvement to the infrastructure of the London Underground. We look forward
to helping London Underground to create a world-class, safe and reliable
system.'

Balfour Beatty has a portfolio of 11 privately funded infrastructure projects,
including three hospitals, three road schemes, a schools concession, a water
project and three power schemes. It is a shareholder in the concession company
which is already running and modernising the power system for the whole of the
London Underground network.



Enquiries to:

Tim Sharp

Tel: [phone]

www.balfourbeatty.com