Invensys Rail lands €700 million rail signalling contracts

Invensys Rail, a division of global technology group Invensys plc, has won three prestigious contracts worth a total of more than €700 million (GBP 614.9 million) in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

In Saudi Arabia, Invensys Rail will provide all the signalling and train control systems for the Haramain High-Speed Line, which will link the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Invensys Rail won the contract as part of the Saudi-Spanish Al Shoula consortium and its share of the three year construction programme is expected to be €298 million. In addition to this, a 12-year maintenance contract has been signed worth €185 million.

The 444km Haramain railway will see trains run at 300km/h between Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah and will be particularly important during the Hajj pilgrimage period. Invensys Rail’s state of the art European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2 train control system will provide passengers with a reliable and safe journey time between the two Haramain cities of less than two and a half hours, radically enhancing travel facilities in the region and matching the finest high-speed railways in the world.

Bosphorus Link

In Turkey, meanwhile, Invensys Rail has scored a landmark success in winning the €195 million signalling contract for Istanbul’s ambitious 77km Bosphorus crossing rail link, the initial phase which is due to open in 2013 – the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey. In a joint venture with Spanish civil engineering company OHL, Invensys Rail will design and supply a new signalling and Automatic Train Protection system for the route, which makes use of the company’s leading edge SIRIUS Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) and FUTUR ERTMS technologies. The project will see a 1.2km-immersed tunnel built along with 12km of other new tracks and the upgrading of a further 63km. When completed it will link the European and Asian sides of Istanbul and connect with the country’s rapidly expanding high-speed rail network, of which Invensys Rail is signalling the Ankara – Konya route.

Reading Upgrade

Finally, in the United Kingdom, Invensys Rail has won a £28 million contract for the signalling component of the next phase of Reading station’s £400 million remodelling programme.

Over the next four years Invensys Rail will design, supply, install, test and commission signalling works for a radical increase in the station’s capacity which includes provision of four new platforms, a new traincare depot and significant changes to improve traffic flow through the station. It follows successful preparatory works undertaken by Invensys Rail last year in anticipation of this phase.

Invensys Rail CEO and President Kevin Riddett say: “To win any one of these contracts would be considered a huge success. That Invensys Rail’s expertise and experience is going to transform the rail travel experience in three of the most exciting and demanding projects in the world is the highest compliment to the dedication and skill of our staff and those of our industry partners, who have worked tirelessly to deliver the best possible solution.

“We are looking forward immensely to working with our clients in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom to continue to enhance rail’s unrivalled environmental, economic and social benefits all over the world.”

For more details, visit www.signalling-train-control.com