Atkins-led consortium wins design work on Denmark’s high speed rail line

Atkins has been chosen as part of a consortium to design the first stretch of high speed enabled rail line in Denmark. The award by Rail Net Denmark will see the construction of 60km of new line linking into the 180km route from Copenhagen to the German border.

Eva Rindom, Atkins’ market director for Denmark, said: “This is a flagship project as it is the first Danish line designed for high speed operation and the first new line built in more than a decade.

“There will be challenges as the new line will bisect existing infrastructure such as road, bridges and tunnels so the planning stage is absolutely vital in order to reduce potential disruption. The scheme design is also more complicated due to the fact it must satisfy strict international high speed standards but it’s something we’re well prepared for as this is just one of many high speed schemes Atkins is currently working on around the world.”

The first phase of the new high speed line project is due to complete in 2018 and involves the construction of 60km of double track railway from Copenhagen to Ringsted. The £1.2 billion scheme will create more capacity, cut delays and reduce travel times. Trains will initially run at 200kph until the high speed line is fully commissioned.

Atkins, as part of a consortium with Vössing, EKJ Consulting engineers and Sweco, will be delivering alignment design, full procurement strategy, program logistics for construction sites and access roads, detailed track design and overhead line design and delivery.

Atkins is highly experienced in the field of high speed rail and is currently helping with preparatory work on new systems in Florida (USA), Sweden, Norway and the UK. The company is also heavily involved in other rail projects in Denmark, including the delivery of the first country-wide roll-out of a state of the art ERTMS signaling system to allow trains to seamlessly cross international borders.