Contract signed for railway infrastructure project for Switzerland’s Gotthard Base Tunnel

Alcatel-Lucent selected for turnkey integrated communications solution



Paris, April 2008 – AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd and the Transtec Gotthard Consortium today announced the contract signature for the railway infrastructure of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. The Transtec Gotthard Consortium comprises the following companies: Alcatel-Lucent’s legal entity in Switzerland, Alcatel-Lucent Schweiz AG, Zurich, Atel Installationstechnik AG, Zurich, TRSS Thales Rail Signaling Solutions AG, Zurich, Alpine Bau GmbH, Hergiswil, and Balfour Beatty Rail GmbH, Munich, Germany. The contract for this last major construction lot on the Gotthard is worth 1.69 billion Swiss francs (EURO 1.05 billion).

Tenders for implementation of the railway infrastructure for the new Gotthard Base Tunnel rail link were received from two consortia. The tenders were rigorously examined and evaluated according to the Swiss Federal Law on Public Procurement.

After evaluation, the tender submitted by the Transtec Gotthard consortium was chosen by the Board of Directors of AlpTransit Gotthard Ltd, selected, in part, due to its economic and technical viability.

The contract is for installation of the railway infrastructure systems for the Gotthard Base Tunnel and involves equipping the two single-track tunnels, each 57 km in length, as well as 11 km of over ground lines to the north and south, all to the point where they connect with the existing railway network.

The Gotthard Base Tunnel will be the longest tunnel in the world upon completion, ahead of the current record holder, the Seikan Tunnel in Japan.

The railway infrastructure installations comprise the railway track, electricity supply and cabling systems for lighting and power, overhead power line and switching systems, tunnel control systems, optical and data networks and operational communications, tunnel radio systems, signalling centres and railway control systems, as well as new signalling and train safety systems. In addition, installation of these systems in the Gotthard Base Tunnel will also require extensive temporary services and systems for logistics and transportation such as construction site railways, workshops, warehouses, personnel accommodation, cooling and ventilation systems, electric power supply, radio and telephone.

The Transtec Gotthard Consortium will now prepare the execution project. Once approved by the Federal Office of Transport (FOT), work will begin on the railway infrastructure installation site. Installation of the railway infrastructure through the south portal will start in 2009, and the north portal in 2012. The installation work is estimated to take about seven years. Commercial operation of the Gotthard Base Tunnel with scheduled train services is planned for 2017.