A joint venture deal has been signed by two companies to work on the Ordsall chord project in central Manchester.
Skanska and BAM Nuttall will be working on the project alongside Amey and Siemens as they partner Network Rail in delivering the first ever direct link between Manchester's two main stations, Victoria and Piccadilly.
The partnership will be managed by Network Rail's Mike Heywood, who said: "Within this alliance of organisations, we have a wide range of skills and experience to make this vital new stretch of railway a reality and deliver the service all rail passengers deserve."
Work will take place on altering the configuration of tracks emerging from Victoria to make the loop possible, connecting two sections of track to the south of the current junction that enables both Victoria and Piccadilly to serve Salford Crescent and beyond.
A legal bid to halt the scheme on the grounds that it would damage listed structures and cut off the modern line from the world's first railway station at Liverpool Road was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
It had been brought by former president of the Institution of Civil Engineers Mark Whitby.
