Thales and Balfour Beatty Rail consortium awarded a €400 million contract to re-signal half of the Danish Main Lines

Banedanmark, the Danish infrastructure owner, has awarded the Thales and Balfour Beatty Rail consortium, a €400 million contract for the installation of a state-of-the-art European signalling system on nearly 1200 km of rail lines across Jutland. This comprises approximately 60 per cent of Denmark’s railway network and is one of the largest signalling contract ever awarded in the world.

Banedanmark has decided to totally renew the existing signalling system with a new technologically advanced system to increase the attractiveness of rail transport. The improvements that will be gained will comprise of improved punctuality and higher utilisation of the tracks and more readily available information. The system being installed is the European Train Control System (ETCS Level 2), a signalling, control and train protection system that is gradually being introduced across Europe to replace the many incompatible safety systems currently in use.

The consortium partners Thales and Balfour Beatty Rail, already have a strong track record of delivering ETCSsystems across Europe. They form a collaborative and integrated delivery team with the client, Banedanmark.

The contract involves the use of the Thales ETCS Level 2 signalling solution but also interlocking combined with rail field equipment and a traffic management system ; the track-side installation being carried out by Balfour Beatty Rail in Denmark. Together the consortium, led by Thales, will deliver a turn-key service including project management, technical management migration of the legacy system under the running operation and maintenance.

The challenge is to install the signalling solution with minimal disruption to the network operations and introduce it into service seamlessly. The delivery is planned from 2014 to 2021.

Jesper Hansen, CEO of Banedanmark, affirms: “By signing this contract with Thales – Balfour Beatty Rail, we are entering into a close cooperation with a supplier with signalling systems in operation all over Europe. The ETCS system has shown that it is both a modern and a mature technical solution, which is key when deploying the system across the whole region. Finally, the choice of the most economically advantageous bids reflects the need to apply the taxpayers’ funds wisely. We are looking forward to Banedanmark and Thales – Balfour Beatty Rail rising to the challenge and giving passengers in Western Denmark a better railway network”.

Georg Koepfler, CEO of Thales Denmark, explains: “This project is a world premiere. This will be the first time that a signalling modernisation project will be implemented on a national scale. Drawing on our experience of rail signalling implementations around the world, we are committed to deliver advanced solutions for the safe and efficient transportation of people and goods on the Danish network.

Per Bredesgaard, Balfour Beatty Rail Managing Director in Denmark, comments: ”Both Balfour Beatty Rail and Thales are very excited that we have been trusted to deliver the future traffic control system for the entire region of Jutland. We look forward to working with Banedanmark to deliver this remarkable project and by receiving this contract Balfour Beatty Rail’s business will grow further in Denmark. We are dedicated to deliver a safe installation and for that we have committed a number of resources. However, in the long-term we will need to work pro-actively to attract young people to the railway business so that we can recruit and train the new staff of the future.