The first track has been laid at Chatswood for Sydney Metro’s City & Southwest project, extending the driverless railway network from the north west, into the city and beyond.

Cimiv Group’s UGL has been confirmed by Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) as the successful bidder for the operation and maintenance of rail infrastructure for the Country Regional Network.

The Webuild Group has begun ahead of schedule the work for the construction of the Verona-Bivio di Vicenza section of the high-speed/high-capacity railway between Verona and Padua. The work, which Webuild is leading with a 83% stake in the IRICAV DUE consortium with Hitachi Rail STS at 17%, on the section is worth approximately €2.5 billion and belongs to a wider project for Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (Gruppo FS Italiane) worth more than €2.7 billion.

• Single-track line between Püspökladány and Biharkeresztes to be electrified, bottlenecks removed and stations renovated
• € 132 million contract awarded to SR 2019 consortium (Strabag’s share: 45.34 %)
• Electrification of the line should again enable an average speed of 100 km/h

Stockholm, Sweden: Epiroc’s collaboration partner Railcare Group AB today launched the world’s biggest battery-electric railway maintenance vehicle, using an Epiroc-developed technology platform. 

Webuild Group celebrated a double breakthrough for the Terzo Valico dei Giovi high-speed/high-capacity railway it is building between Genoa and Milan to improve the port’s links with the rail network in northern Italy and the rest of Europe.

• Major milestone for Europe’s largest infrastructure project as it moves from enabling works to full construction following Government’s approval for Notice to Proceed in April
• HS2 Ltd and its Tier One contractors expect to recruit for around 22,000 roles in the coming years to build the Phase One route – offering people a path back into work after the pandemic
• HS2 Ltd CEO Mark Thurston: “the reality of high speed journeys joining up Britain’s biggest cities in the North and Midlands and using that connectivity to help level up the country has just moved a step closer”
• NEW HS2 animations, infographics, drone footage and more available at this link: https://visual.library.hs2.org.uk/p/share/HoMPX6th7pT2

The exact station locations for the new Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project have been confirmed.

• Upgrade of 9.6 km section from Dětmarovice to the Polish border
• Consortium with Czech partner OHL ŽS a.s (Strabag’s share: 66.5 %)
• Project schedule: 29 months

• Two large DB Netz AG orders on the railway lines south of Berlin and between Leipzig and Dresden
• Project Südkreuz (a)–Blankenfelde (Berlin–Dresden Railway / VP 5) in consortium with Strabag AG also includes the connection to the new BER airport
• Project Zeithain (VDE 9) comprises the fundamental renewal of the Bogendreieck–Leckwitz rail section in a consortium with Hentschke Bau GmbH

Strabag SE has been awarded two major railway construction contracts in eastern Germany from DB Netz AG. Strabag Rail GmbH, working in a consortium with Strabag AG, has been commissioned to upgrade the railway line between the Berlin/Brandenburg border and the Berlin outer ring for long-distance trains (Berlin–Dresden Railway / VP 5). The project also includes the connection of the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) to the long-distance network of Deutsche Bahn. The contract has a volume of around € 105 million. Construction will begin in August 2020, with completion of the main construction works scheduled for January 2025.

Strabag Rail will also be leading a consortium with Hentschke Bau GmbH to upgrade the section between Zeithain and Leckwitz on the Leipzig–Dresden railway line for long-distance train service (Project Zeithain / VDE 9). This contract has a volume of around € 87 million. The project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2025 after about five years (61 months) of construction. Strabag Rail GmbH will carry out both orders with teams from its Business Unit East.

“We are very happy about the confidence placed in our railway construction expertise and are delighted to be playing a key role in the upgrade of Germany’s railway infrastructure with two large projects at once. These are important steps on the way to further increasing the competitiveness of rail travel as an environmentally friendly and fast means of transport,” explained Thomas Birtel, CEO of Strabag SE.

New tracks for high-speed ICE connection to BER airport

DB Netz AG is having the 16 km section in the south of Berlin from Berliner Südkreuz to Blankenfelde (Berlin–Dresden railway) upgraded to handle modern local, regional and long-distance trains, among other things to provide a high-speed ICE link from the centre of Berlin to the BER airport. This section of the Berlin–Dresden line is currently only open to S-Bahn commuter service and diesel freight trains. The contract (VP 5) awarded to the consortium consisting of Strabag Rail and Strabag Subdivision North-East includes the construction of the approximately three-kilometre long track section between the Berlin/Brandenburg border and the Berlin outer ring as well as the construction of the Mahlow Curve to link the BER airport to the Berlin–Dresden Railway. As part of the project, the STRABAG team will construct two mainline tracks including switches, overhead lines and safety technology, relocate the existing S-Bahn track and build noise protection walls, among other things. Four overpasses and a passenger tunnel will also be built to replace the existing level crossings, along with a new crossing structure for the grade-separated extension of the Mahlow Curve.

The approx. 10 km double-track section of rail between Zeithain and Leckwitz is being completely renovated and rebuilt as part of the ongoing upgrade of the Leipzig–Dresden railway line to a high-speed link. The Zeithain project (VDE 9) comprises not only the new construction of the track system including ground engineering works, drainage and underground cables, but also the complete renewal of the signalling and signal box technology, the installation of new overhead contact lines and the new construction or renovation of the Glaubitz and Nünchritz stops (platforms and park-and-ride facilities). The modification of four bridge structures along the line, the construction of new overpasses and culverts, and the erection of noise barriers with a total area of 30,000 m² also form part of the contract.

Source: Strabag

The IRICAV 2 consortium led by the Webuild Group has signed a contract worth a total of about €2.5 billion to start work on the first section of a high-speed/high-capacity railway being developed between Verona and Padua and commissioned by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) (Gruppo FS Italiane). The signing comes as the Group forges ahead with Progetto Italia, a strategy to consolidate and strengthen Italy’s infrastructure sector. The Group owns 83% of the consortium (Webuild 45.44%, Astaldi 37.49%) and Hitachi Rail STS.

Mott MacDonald is undertaking its first piece of work for the new Network Rail Design Services Framework. The project is supporting the development of a new system to support degraded mode working on the railway during signalling system failures. The DMWS project is part of Network Rail’s Research & Development Portfolio – it’s £245M investment programme over CP6 to drive improvements to the safety, performance and efficiency of Britain’s railway infrastructure.

• Modernisation of 11.2 km section between Elin Pelin and Kostenets
• Strabag with 51 % stake in consortium
• EU co-financing for Bulgaria’s largest railway infrastructure project

Skanska has, as part of a joint venture with D.W. White Construction, signed a contract with Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) to build the Fall River Secondary Line, the first major package of the South Coast Rail Phase 1 Expansion in Massachusetts, USA.

The Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport project is the new metro railway line which will service Greater Western Sydney and the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport.

Skanska has signed a contract with Sa.Pi. NOR for ground works on the northern parcel of a new railway route in Vestfold county, Norway. The contract is worth NOK 330 M, about SEK 330 M, which will be included in the Nordic order bookings for the second quarter 2020.

Fugro is one of the successful companies to win innovation funding from Innovate UK’s ‘First of a Kind’ (FOAK2020) competition under the theme of optimised and cost-effective rail maintenance.

Network Rail has awarded Fugro a contract for a RILA survey of a major part the rail network on the Western Route in England.

Costain confirms that its joint venture company, Skanska Costain Strabag, (“SCSJV”) has been granted notice to proceed by High Speed Two (HS2) Limited to commence full detailed design and construction of Phase 1 of the HS2 railway in area south as part of the Main Works Civils Contract.

Work continues on the high-speed railway between Naples and Bari currently under construction and involving Salini Impregilo and Astaldi, two protagonists of Progetto Italia, a project to create Webuild, a large group able to compete more effectively on international markets. At a time of national emergency with the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), work on the Naples-Cancello section of the railway is going ahead with a workforce of 200 people and the support of subcontractors from various parts of Italy in full respect of the measures put in place to prevent infection.