A RAIL company has won a key contract to help ensure visitors get to the 2012 London Olympics without delay.

Darlington-based Henry Williams Ltd is manufacturing parts for the £40m signalling refurbishment of the London Overground, formerly the North London Line.

The £326m London Overground improvement project, funded by Network Rail and Transport for London, is designed to boost the line’s capacity and accommodate London 2012 visitors heading to and from the Olympic Park area, in Stratford.

Henry Williams, which celebrated its 125th anniversary last year, is providing 81 Function Supply Points (FSPs), part of the power distribution equipment for the line.

The FSPs will form part of a complex system ensuring a continuous power supply.

The order, awarded by signalling works contractor Atkins, is being manufactured at Henry Williams’ plant in Dodsworth Street.

Sales director Steve Cotton said: “The Olympics is going to be one of the major events of the century.

“The fact we are playing even a minor part is good for moral throughout the company.

“We have been doing overtime to get the order done but we have achieved the schedule set and are probably ahead of it, it has been a good job.”

The company, which employs 96 permanent workers, has managed to maintain staffing levels despite the economic downturn.

Mr Cotton said: “In these trying times we haven’t laid anyone off, haven’t made anyone redundant and we haven’t worked short hours.”

He added: “We are in pretty good shape for next year and we expect to be increasing in size as regards turnover.”

The company is supplying the FSPs in batches of ten and expects to complete the order by the end of this month.

The London Overground improvement project will see the upgrade of more than 200 signals, the renewal of 7km of track and 69 sets of points, the lengthening of 30 platforms and general improvements to a further seven stations.

Speaking earlier this year the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “This project is a top priority, as London Overground will play a major role in getting people to and from the Olympic Park in 2012.”

Henry Williams was established in Glasgow in 1883, to manufacture rail control and signalling equipment.

The company is still based on the same four-hectare site in Darlington, it has occupied for the past 98 years.