ST Engineering-led JV secures $1.4 billion contract for the New Kaohsiung MRT Yellow Line

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Singapore (Urban Transport News): Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering) today announced that the Kaohsiung City Mass Rapid Transit Bureau has awarded a contract to its Urban Solutions subsidiary as part of a consortium, to provide turnkey rail services worth S$1.4b including rail electronics solutions as well as above-ground train depot design, construction and equipment fit out for the new Kaohsiung MRT Yellow Line. It will also be responsible for overall project management and serve as the systems integration lead. This is part of a larger contract awarded to the consortium with Siemens Mobility and Stadler Rail, which will provide the signalling system and rolling stock respectively.

“Winning this landmark Yellow Line project demonstrates the industry’s confidence in our unique strengths and attests to our capability in moving up the value chain to deliver full turnkey rail services, systems integration and project management. With our deep market familiarity and strong technical and engineering expertise, we are confident of delivering a world-class modern metro line that will improve connectivity and quality of life for residents in Kaohsiung,” said Chew Men Leong, President of Urban Solutions at ST Engineering. “This significant win following our Kaohsiung MRT Red Line North Extension contract, reinforces our position as a global Smart City participant and brings us closer to achieving our Smart City growth ambitions.”

“The supply contract over 25 medium-capacity 3-car metro-trainsets for the Kaohsiung MRT Yellow Line marks a premiere for Stadler in the Asian metro market segment. We are proud that our high-quality standards and reliability as well as our expertise in tailoring vehicle solutions specifically to customer requirements have been decisive criteria for the selection of Stadler in this international tender. The metro trains will be of the latest state of the art, highly energy efficient due to the specific lightweight aluminum construction and operated driverless and fully automatic (GoA4). Additionally, they will be specially designed for the tropical and subtropical climate in Taiwan with a high humidity of up to 100 percent and extreme temperatures of up to 45 degrees,” said Dr. Ansgar Brockmeyer, Deputy Group CEO and Executive Vice President Marketing & Sales at Stadler.

In addition to leading project management and systems integration, ST Engineering will provide the communications system, automatic fare collection system, platform screen doors, traction electrification system, depot design and construction, and depot maintenance equipment for the Yellow Line. The contracted scope is expected to start by late 2022 over a period of 10 years.

The newest rail infrastructure programme in Kaohsiung City, the Yellow Line is a 22.8km line that comprises 22 underground stations and one elevated station. A key addition to Kaohsiung City’s metro network, the Yellow Line links to the existing Red and Orange lines, a light-rail system and railway station, connecting the city's six key districts, universities and schools. It will serve about 1.16 million people, nearly 42 per cent of the city's total population, when completed.

ST Engineering has a close to 30-year strong track record in implementing rail projects in Taiwan and has over 100 employees comprising an engineering team with deep local and domain expertise. Its rail projects include turnkey rail services for the Red Line North Extension as part of a consortium, and rail electronics solutions for the Red and Orange Lines. This new win adds to ST Engineering’s track record of over 200 smart metro projects in more than 50 global cities.