Australian contractor John Holland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Ltd (ASX: LEI), today announced it has been selected as the preferred proponent for the management of the Country Regional Network (CRN) by the NSW Government's Country Rail Infrastructure Authority.

John Holland said it expects revenue of approximately $1.5 billion over the next 10 years under the agreement, which will be concluded on 17 December.

The contract involves the operation, management, maintenance and upgrade of country railway lines across NSW, including 2,700 kilometres of operational freight and passenger lines and 3,100 kilometres of non-operational lines.

John Holland will deliver the full scope of railway asset management services under the contract, including network operations, signalling, structures and major periodic maintenance.

"This contract represents a strategic expansion into railway asset maintenance and is the first part of our broader push toward the establishment of a comprehensive transport asset maintenance business across a range of infrastructure and transport classes," saidJohn Holland's Group managing Director Glenn Palin.

Executive General Manager of John Holland's Rail business, Karl Mociak, said: "In addition to being Australia's largest rail construction contractor, the CRN contract now establishes John Holland as Australia's largest private railway asset management company."

The 10 year CRN contract will commence in the field late in 2011 and will run through 2021. A directly employed John Holland workforce in excess of 400 will be created to deliver the full scope of works.