MacArthur, who starts his new role on 1 February, joined Story in 2014 after spending 19 years working for Balfour Beatty. He has more than 30 years’ experience within the civil engineering and rail sectors.

His role is to ensure successful delivery of the Network Rail work. He also leads the ‘Fit for Future’ strategy in Scotland, centred around business growth in both the rail and civils sectors.

The Network Rail framework will see Story Scotland, which has offices in Glasgow and Edinburgh, deliver a wide range of renewal and enhancement projects in Scotland over the next five years. These include replacing and refurbishing structures across the route and delivering improvements at stations.

The contract has been awarded as Network Rail prepares to invest over £4bn in the Scottish network between 2019 and 2024. This will see Story recruiting up to 60 graduates, trainees and apprentices in Scotland across the five years.

Story is already a key partner for Network Rail in Scotland and is currently working to deliver new platforms at Edinburgh Waverley station.

John MacArthur said: “It is both an honour and a privilege to take on this new role and continue to grow the business as we deliver major projects across Scotland.

“We have a very busy five years ahead of us, and although very exciting, there will no doubt be significant challenges to overcome. However, I am confident that we have the foundations and team to continue our success, building a sustainable business model in the years ahead.”

He added: “I am absolutely delighted to win the framework contract, which reflects the collaborative working relationships we have been building with Network Rail and other key clients in Scotland.

“The award also supports our growth plans in Scotland and our vision to provide a highly professional turn-key service to the construction industry, where we deliver rail and civils infrastructure with our in-house labour resource.”

Jason Butterworth, Story Contracting CEO, said: “This appointment acknowledges the success John has made growing the Scottish division and giving the team a greater presence in the market place.

“We are very fortunate to have the dedication, commitment and passion of such a strong leader and I would like to congratulate him and wish him the best of success in his new role.

“I am delighted for the team in Scotland and particularly because the Network Rail contract win is down to our reputation for delivery on site, quality, safety and managing projects on time and to budget.

“This will see significant growth in the Scottish division, and we are therefore adding strength to the leadership of the company.”

Story Scotland, which is a division of family-owned infrastructure company Story Contracting, enjoyed record growth last year. Between 2014 and 2018, the company also grew from six employees to 113.

As part of its ongoing commitment to the continued development of future talent, Story Scotland recently welcomed its first cohort of apprentices, with six new starters joining the team as Apprentice General Operatives.

The young apprentices joined the Story Scotland team last week and have been working their way through a packed schedule of health and safety exercises, courses and introductory meetings with their mentors, as well as a visit to the SPT Ibrox site in Glasgow. In the coming weeks the apprentices will begin their SVQ course at the National Construction College.