The partnership team consisting of SYSTRA, leader of the consortium, Italferr (Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane Group) and Egis has been awarded Rail Baltica’s contract to provide engineering and project management services for preparation, procurement and supervision of Rail Baltica Control-Command and Signalling subsystem deployment that include the European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2, interlocking, traffic management, information, and communication technologies (ICT), ancillary, station, and non-traction power supply subsystems.
The contract covers the entire construction period till the end of the defect notification period. Rail Baltica is a joint project of three EU Member States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – and concerns the development of a fast conventional double-track 1435mm electrified gauge and ERTMS equipped railway line with an overall length of 870km on the route from Tallinn through Pärnu), Riga, Panevėžys, Kaunas to the Lithuania/Poland state border (including a Kaunas – Vilnius spur) with a design speed of 249km/h.
The railway line for both passenger and freight transport will be interoperable with the TEN-T Network in the rest of Europe and competitive in terms of quality with other modes of transport in the region. The Rail Baltica high-speed line will include connections to 7 international railway passenger stations, 3 multimodal terminals, connections to airports and seaports, as well several regional passenger stations, maintenance facilities and interfaces with the existing 1520mm railway network, the rail gauge still in use in the Baltic States.
Multidisciplinary and international expertise to ensure successful deployment
Under the new contract, the engineering services team will undertake full responsibility of the management of the project and will set up a project management office, develop technical solutions and manage the implementation of the works providing technical supervision of design, construction, system integration, testing and commissioning, putting in operation and defect notification period.
“Our goal is to provide a fully unified and interoperable solution of the Control-Command and Signalling system along the whole 870km Rail Baltica route, and to reach this target that we were looking for Systems Engineering Services with the technical expertise, experience and skills to manage the implementation of this sophisticated, interconnected and almost “state-of-the-art” Control-Command and Signalling solutions,” comments Marc-Philippe El Beze, Chief Technical Officer and Member of the Management Board at RB Rail AS.
“SYSTRA is extremely delighted to support Rail Batica project, as this project will connect populations and improve connectivity across Europe, while providing great economic benefit and new standards of mobility in the three Baltic States,” adds Jean-Charles Vollery, Chief Operating Officer at SYSTRA.
Andrea Nardinocchi, CEO at Italferr: “Italferr is honoured to be part of Rail Baltica high-speed rail project together with its joint partners SYSTRA and Egis. We are very delighted to have the opportunity to support RB Rail AS and the project implementers in delivering such a challenging and pivotal Project, that will enhance connectivity among the three Baltics countries and the whole Trans-European Transportation Network, thus fostering great socio-economic benefit beyond the Project borders, along with new transportation standards.”
“We are very pleased to support Rail Baltica one time again, on this iconic project. This new contract, with our partners Italferr and Systra, add to our ongoing missions on the project such as Riga Central Station and the design and technical support services on the Latvian section. It is also a strong testimony of our client Rail Baltica whom we are proud to continue to work with on the development of mobility in the Baltics Countries and Europe,” says Olivier Bouvart, CEO Rail at Egis
