Parsons Joint Venture Awarded Contract by Banedanmark to Upgrade and Modernize Danish Railway Network

PASADENA, CA . – Parsons, joint-ventured with Rambøll (DK), Atkins (UK), and Emch+Berger (Switzerland), has been awarded a 12-year (with available options) multidisciplinary consultancy contract to upgrade and modernize the Danish railway network by 2021. Banedanmark (DK), the company responsible for operating and developing the Danish railway network, initiated this government-funded capital expenditure program, known as the Denmark Signaling Program. The cost of the program when completed is estimated at nearly $5 billion (3.2 billion euro).

The team’s scope of work includes tender preparation, contract negotiation, supplier oversight, implementation of an early deployment scheme, and rollout over the entire Danish mainline rail network of a European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS)—the standard to which Europe is moving toward in the standardization of its rail signal control systems—and Communication-Based Train Control System to the Copenhagen commuter network. Implementation of a Level 2 ERTMS will provide the opportunity to achieve full interoperability on the Danish network and integration of automatic traffic management in a few centers for the whole country.

“Parsons is pleased to be a part of this important project,” said Jim Shappell, Parsons Group President. “It will be the largest ERTMS implementation in Europe and will provide the United States with invaluable insight into the world of high-speed rail.”

The Danish Signaling Program will include the newest proven signaling technology to improve punctuality and reliability of the rail network as well as lower life-cycle costs achieved through economies of scale, reduced lineside equipment, and increased centralization of the control systems. When completed, it will have renewed the signaling system over 3,200 km of track, and 560 train sets and locomotives from four major operators.