FCC wins 246 million euro railway contract in Romania

Romania’s National Railway Company (RFC) has awarded FCC a 246 million euro contract to refurbish and upgrade the Sighişoara-Atel section of the Simeria-Braşov railway line, in Transylvania, north of Bucharest. FCC leads a consortium comprising its construction division together with subsidiary Alpine, and construction company Azvi.

The project consists of the refurbishment and modernisation of 28 kilometres of double-tracked electrified line. As a result of this project, passenger trains will be able to travel at up to 160 kilometres per hour, and freight trains at up to 120 kilometres per hour.

This section of railway is part of Pan-European Transport Corridor IV and the contract is financed by the European Union. The project will take 36 months, and includes the execution of four bypasses measuring a total of almost 9 kilometres and remodelling of two passenger stations and two unstaffed stations. The partners will also build an arched viaduct with a 125 metre-span and two tunnels measuring 1,370 metres in total.

Additionally, the contract includes a complete overhaul of the electrification system, railway signalling in accordance with European standards, as well as work on existing stations on the line.

Experience in the region with other key projects

FCC has been expanding in Eastern Europe and has been operating in Romania since 2004, where it is responsible for the Basarab overpass (Bucharest), which includes the largest cable-stayed bridge in the country, as well as the north Bucharest bypass and line 5 of the Bucharest metro.

FCC is also responsible for major works in Bulgaria, including the construction of a bridge over the River Danube, which will link the cities of Vidin (Bulgaria) and Calafat (Romania). With a 185 million euro budget, it is FCC’s largest project in Bulgaria, and includes the construction of a bridge almost two kilometres long to carry road and railway traffic. The bridge will have four lanes for road traffic, a single-track electrified railway, a bicycle lane, and two sidewalks for pedestrians and services. The company will also build the necessary infrastructure for road and railway access. FCC is also building the Tsankov Kamak hydropower project in Devin (around 220 kilometres from Sofia), including a dam 130.5 metres high, 27 metres thick, and with a 480-metre crest; it is the largest plant of its kind in Europe.

FCC, which is chaired by Baldomero Falcones, also contributed to the UEFA Euro 2012 football championship, which is to be held in Poland this summer. Its subsidiary Alpine built four of the stadia that will host the football competition, including the National Stadium in Warsaw, where Poland and Greece will play the inaugural match on 8 June. The stadium cost 285 million euro, seats 55,000 people in two grandstands on ten floors, and boasts over 60 VIP boxes which seat 900 people. It also accommodates 800 members of the press and has a two-floor 1,700-space underground car park. There are also plans to build a shopping area, gym, restaurants and conference rooms. Alpine also built the PGE Arena Gdańsk stadium, which will host the Spain-Italy match (among others), and the Poznań and Krakow stadia.