Tunnel Euralpin Lyon-Turin (TELT) has awarded the majority of the tunnelling project management contracts for the Lyon-Turin rail link.
Alliance Lyon Turin Engineering, made up of Arcadis, BG Consulting Engineers, Neosia, Lombardi Engineering and Amberg, have been awarded Lot 1.
Valued at around €40 million, this 10-year contract is for the longest section (24km) between Villarodin-Bourget and Modane Descent.
The S2IP consortium, comprised of Setec, Systra, Italferr and Pini Swiss Engineers, has won Lot 2, covering single-track parallel 21km-long tunnels between Saint-Martin-La-Porte and Le Praz in the French Alps. This 10-year deal is worth €37 million.
Finally, Lot 3, project management of the Villard Clement portal section, covers a 5km section. This 4.5-year deal, worth €13.7 million, has been awarded to Egis, Ingérop, Alpina and Geodata.
This work covers more than 80 per cent of the tunnels to be completed.
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In total, the tunnel section – known as the Mont d’Ambin Base Tunnel – of the Lyon-Turn rail link will be 57.5km-long, linking the international stations of Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne and Susa.
There will be 45km of tunnel on the French side and 12km in Italy.
In January, 2017, the line’s scheduled opening date was between 2029-2030. It is set to reduce the journey time between Lyon and Turin from around three hours and 43 minutes to one hour and 47 minutes with high-speed services.
It has been estimated that around 4.5 million passengers per year will use this route.
Although the majority of funding for the line will come from France (25 per cent) and Italy (36 per cent), the EU is due to finance the remaining 40 per cent.
TELT is the Franco-Italian company tasked with delivering the rail tunnel link between Lyon and Turin.
It is owned 50 per cent by France’s Ministry of Economy and Finances and 50 per cent by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and took over from Lyon Turin Ferroviaire in 2015.
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