RB Rail AS awarded €32.3mn engineering contract for European Rail Baltica project

Riga, Latvia (Urban Transport News): A contract agreement worth 32,3 million euro was signed between the Rail Baltica joint venture, the global project coordinator RB Rail AS and an international consortium for the Control-Command and Signalling engineering and works supervision for Rail Baltica on January 18, 2022.

The partnership team consisting of SYSTRA, 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.

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 870 km 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.

“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,” said Andrea Nardinocchi, CEO at ITALFERR.

“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,” said Olivier Bouvart, CEO at EGIS.

 “SYSTRA is also extremely delighted to support Rail Batica project, as this project will improve communities and connectivity across the Europe, while providing great economic benefit and new standards of mobility in the three Baltic States,” adds Jean-Charles Vollery, Chief International and Development Officer at SYSTRA.

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.