Europe

The first three phases of the Copenhagen Metro were opened in 2002 and 2003. In view of the success, it was decided that work continue on a fourth phase : a city circle line (Cityringen).

As from November 2007, construction of this new high-speed line linking Saint-Pancras station in London to the Channel Tunnel has brought Paris to within 2 hours 20 minutes of London and Brussels to within 2 hours.

This new line is one of the priority projects for the transeuropean rail network and will be equipped with the new ERTMS system. By 2012 it will cut journey times between Barcelona and Perpignan to 50 minutes and Barcelona to Paris to 5.5 hours. The line will be 45 km long, including 8 km of tunnel under the Perthus pass and will carry a mixture of high-speed and goods traffic.
SYSTRA, in partnership with TYPSA, will provide technical assistance to the concessionnaire, covering supervision of designs, on-site management, a review and expertise in the fields of rail equipment, operation, civil engineering on the French side and assessment and expertise on safety issues.

The city of Riga is marked by two features - the distinct natural division created by the river Daugava, which has resulted in the two banks not developing at the same rate, and a lack of crossing points over the river. Faced with an increase in road traffic, the local authority has begun a programme to renovate the tramways and reorganise the entire transport system.

The tramway, which recently celebrated its 115th anniversary, has always catered for most of the travel needs around Tallin. However, since Estonia became independent, its image has declined somewhat, as a result of the lack of investment in new technology.

As far back as 1991, the Turin authorities opted for the construction of a VAL-type LRT, to deal with the problems of pollution and constant traffic jams affecting the city. The decision to award the 2006 Winter Olympics to Turin was the catalyst for the relaunch of the project.

A characteristic of the Lithuanian capital, is the fact that its major areas of high-rise residential accommodation, built on the outskirts of the city between the fifties and the eighties, are a considerable distance from the business quarter in the centre of the city. The river Neris, with relatively few crossing points, further separates residents from their place of work. The high density of traffic across the river causes delays and congestion. To cope with the problem, the local authority decided to regenerate public transport in the city.