Several Assignments on a High-speed Line for SYSTRA in Spain

Several Assignments on a High-speed Line for SYSTRA in Spain

Inside the JV team, Subterra is responsible for the Site Technical office, Geotechnical aspects of the lot (slopes, embankments, foundations, earthworks etc.) and Tunnels.

The section concerned is approximately 15.1km long and will run between the municipalities of Tafalla and Campanas in the autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain. The work will be carried out by our client, state-owned railway infrastructure manager ADIF.

A major national high-speed rail initiative

The Cantabrian-Mediterranean High Speed Railway Corridor is a significant section of Spain’s railway network, intended to connect the Basque Country and the autonomous community of Cantabria with the city of Valencia. It was initially announced in 2004 and later incorporated into Spain’s 2005-2020 Strategic Infrastructure and Transport Plan.

Benefits for the movement of freight and passengers

The project aims to facilitate the transport of freight and significantly reduce passenger travel times. Once operational, the Valencia-Santander route is expected to take just over four hours, compared with the previous journey time of more than 12 hours.

A Tunnel Signed SYSTRA for Istanbul

The Sarıyer and Kilyos districts of Istanbul will soon be accessible via a double bypass road tunnel, the underground infrastructure for which was designed by SYSTRA SWS Türkiye on behalf of construction firm IC Ictas Construction. The latest event to take place was the meeting between the excavation teams for two sections: the excavation face of the north portal left tube and adit tunnel.

For this project, SYSTRA SWS Türkiye carried out the execution studies for the entire motorway section, including structural, architectural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) studies using BIM (LOD 400*), and is currently providing technical assistance during the construction of the work.

BIM Modelling of the project (with Naviswork):

Two construction methods

The twin-tube tunnels in the project were designed to be bored in two different methods:

• With a 13.75 metre diameter tunnel boring machine (the second widest used in Türkiye) on the south side, which required the excavation of two caverns to assemble the machines. This section has yet to start;
• With the new Austrian method, known as ‘sequential excavation’, which combines drilling by blasting and consolidation by shotcrete.

A better connection

The construction of this new tunnel, scheduled to open in 2026, should cut journey times for motorists while reducing air pollution and noise pollution caused by surface traffic jams. The road network will also provide a direct connection to the Northern Marmara motorway in northern Istanbul, as well as to Istanbul International Airport.

SYSTRA in Türkiye

Present in the country since 2011, SYSTRA employs 125 people in Türkiye and has a leading position in the field of complex infrastructure design, thanks to a dedicated and comprehensive expertise and consultancy offering. The Group, which is located in Ankara and in Istanbul, intends to expand its workforce.

Inauguration of Six New Stations for the Cairo Metro

The third line of the Cairo Metro now reaches the Ring Road, which is being built all around the city. Financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), this extension will serve the Imbaba district, one of the most densely populated in the world with almost 500,000 inhabitants.

Located to the north of the Giza Plateau, this area now benefits from fast, direct access to Cairo’s historic city centre, international airport, and other lines on the network.

In 2016, SYSTRA was chosen to act as General Consultant for Phase 3 of Line 3 of the Cairo Metro. Our teams were involved in reviewing the execution studies, before supervising the entire worksite, from civil engineering to the installation of systems, in particular the power supply and signalling systems, and the commissioning of the rolling stock.

Working alongside the Cairo Metro since 1970

SYSTRA has been working with the Egyptian authorities on the design and development of their metro system for over half a century. We have provided our services for the design and construction of all the lines in the network, the first metro system to be created on the African continent, which came into service in 1987.

The previous inauguration took place in October 2022, when Line 3 crossed Zamalek Island and reached Kit Kat station.

2023 ENR Rankings: SYSTRA Among the Best Engineering Firms Worldwide in the Transportation Field

Barely a year after entering the TOP 5 of the Bridges category, SYSTRA continues to climb to the very top of the ENR rankings, taking 4^th position. The Group’s growth forecast for 2022 is +20% in this segment, equivalent to that of the top company in the ranking.

In the Mass Transit & Rail segment, SYSTRA remains one of the undisputed champions since the creation of the ranking by retaining its 3^rd position, just behind WSP and Aecom, with growth 15% higher than that of the category as a whole (+10% for the category).

These excellent results confirm those published in August for the other categories: SYSTRA moved up to 8^th position (+1 compared to the 2022 ranking) in the Transportation category and confirmed its entry from the previous year in the top 225 International Design Firms, moving up to 24^th position.

The Top Global Sourcebook Release, which the American magazine has just published, is based on international turnover (excluding France for SYSTRA) declared for 2022 by the world’s largest companies in several categories.

Find the Engineering News-Record publications on their website.

SYSTRA Wins Rail and Metro Projects in the Philippines

IdentifYing expansion possibilities for Manila’s light rail system

SYSTRA is to carry out a feasibility study for the extension of the capacity of LRT2, the capital’s second light metro line (light metro because it runs on elevated viaducts), on behalf of the Light Rail Transit Authority, and in collaboration with the technical services provider TÜV Rheinland.

It will be used to support the approval of the project by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and its validation by the agencies responsible for overseeing it.

The conclusions, expected within six months, will enable the strategic planning to be calibrated, and the necessary measures to protect and manage the assets to be programmed.

A strategic rail project to connect all the regions of Luzon

On the country’s largest island, Luzon, SYSTRA will be taking part in the North Long Haul Inter-Regional Railway Project, alongside Pricewaterhouse Coopers (Isla Lipana & Co. in the Philippines), and on behalf of the public-private partnership (PPP) Center and the Department of Transport.

The North Haul project is one of the Philippine government’s initiatives to boost the island’s economy. It provides for the financing, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of an inter-regional rail network of more than 800 km connecting the four regions of the island. It also includes passenger stations, freight terminals, maintenance depots, operations and control centres, connections to seaports, and other traffic-related developments.

Our assignment, which will last just over nine months, is divided into three phases:

• project launch and pre-feasibility study;
• feasibility study and project structuring;
• then assistance in obtaining all the necessary government authorizations.

SYSTRA Canada Assists the City of Matagami in Improving Transhipment Yard

The City of Matagami, located in the Jamésie territory in the southern part of the Nord-du-Québec region, wishes to offer its population the best possible living environment, namely by creating permanent jobs at its transshipment center.

The city wants to leverage its long-term mining development potential with the gradual commissioning of three lithium mines, thus generating an increase in rail traffic.

SYSTRA CANADA CONTRIBUTES TO THIS EXITING DEVELOPMENT

As a first step, we developed a trusting relationship with the City and the Matagami Development Corporation during the feasibility phases for required modifications to the transshipment yard. Subsequently, we will be carrying out engineering studies, assisting the City in the selection of the contractor, and ensuring that the works are carried out in accordance with plans and standards.

Tunnels Take Centre Stage

Maximum exposure in Canada

From 24 to 26 September, teams from SYSTRA Canada and SYSTRA SWS took part in the TAC 2023 conference in Toronto, Canada. This major North American event is organised by the Tunnelling Association of Canada (TAC), and this year’s theme was ‘Smart Solutions, Future Growth’. Of particular note this year was a major exhibition showcasing trenchless tunnel excavation technologies, with examples from Canada and around the world.

The TAC 2023 conference was an opportunity for Edoardo Misano, SYSTRA SWS tunnel expert, to demonstrate our skills in conventional tunnel excavation methods under the Seine in Paris. In particular, the case study of lot T3a of line 15 South of the Grand Paris Express, in which SYSTRA SWS was involved, was presented, to show how the state of the soil meant that the shafts and horizontal access galleries had to be redesigned, and then the soil had to be treated appropriately to prevent any instability between the water and the ground.

Spotlight on road tunnels in Colombia

The following week in Medellín, Colombia, the ‘ExpoTúneles y Minería Subterránea 2023’ was held, focusing on the underground and mining markets. Representatives from SYSTRA Subterra were on hand to meet our clients.

Rafael Sanchez, Head of the Safety Installations Department, gave a presentation on the inspection and safety of road tunnels.

Tunnels in the City of Lights

Finally, it was in France that the world of tunnels met for the 17th international AFTES (French Association for Tunnels and Underground Spaces) conference, from 2 to 4 October in Paris.

The SYSTRA France stand was the venue for a host of meetings with all those involved in the underground, public works, and tunnel structure sectors, focusing especially on energy, the environment and digital transition.

A Railway Maintenance Centre Designed by SYSTRA in Chile

SYSTRA is continuing to support Chile’s rail revival, working for the national operator EFE (Empresa de Ferrocarriles del Estado). In particular, this involves improving connections between the interior of the country and the capital, such as the modernisation of the Santiago-Chillán passenger line, in which our teams were involved until the end of 2022.

SYSTRA has been chosen to design a new maintenance workshop for the new fleet of trains on this line, in a consortium with the Chilean engineering company JEJ. The workshop will be built close to Chillán station in order to offer greater flexibility when repairing Chile’s regional trains.

The result will be optimised maintenance expenditure, a safer network and greater availability for passengers, as well as a new industrial activity for local development.

A comprehensive project for the renewal of a city

The future maintenance workshop is fully integrated into the project to revitalise the city centre, which also includes a new museum, a new urban park and renovated avenues and station. The attractiveness of this town of 160,000 inhabitants will be enhanced by the new workshop, which will not only make more trains available, but also faster trains to Santiago (3h40 min compared with 5h). These are major advantages in convincing the 250,000 or so annual passengers to adopt a more sustainable and more efficient form of mobility than buses, which take over 5 hours.

The teams were responsible for soil studies (topography, geotechnics, hydrology), preliminary and execution studies in BIM for the infrastructure and rail systems (track, power supply, signalling), workshop equipment and architecture, landscape integration, environmental impact management, functional and technical specifications, optimisation of construction and operating costs, and the workshop maintenance plan.

These studies were submitted at the end of 2022 for a construction tender currently being awarded by EFE.

Chile’s rail boom

In 2019, the Chilean authorities launched an ambitious plan: Chile sobre rieles, Chile on the rails, which intends to triple the country’s rail capacity by 2027. SYSTRA is involved in this project, which has been underway in Chile for several years:

• Completion of the Santiago-Melipilla line, with the installation of a new track to the south-west;
• The creation of the new Santiago-Batuco line in the north-west;
• Technical assistance for the construction of the Cerro Chepe tunnel for the Puente Ferrovioario project in the Rio Biobio, for the Concepcion-San Pedro de La Paz line;
• A comprehensive asset management audit of the entire network, carried out between 2018 and 2019, to assess the state of the infrastructure of the entire EFE network.

Experts from SYSTRA Chile and SYSTRA Subterra are continuing to support the development of the Santiago metro with the construction of line 7, systems studies for the extension of line 6 and preliminary studies for lines 8 and 9 for the operator Metro S.A., a long-standing client of the Group for over half a century.

SYSTRA Integrates Three Atkins Entities in Sweden, Denmark and Norway and Strengthens its Presence in Scandinavia

With 770 experts working in 12 offices, including 7 in Sweden, 4 in Denmark and 1 in Norway, these teams have established themselves as key players in the field of infrastructure and consultancy. These acquisitions mark a major step forward for SYSTRA’s development in Nordic countries, where the Group already employs 300 staff.

This strategic reinforcement will enable SYSTRA to respond more effectively to the major projects undertaken in these countries and to offer its clients a wider range of services.

Pierre Verzat, CEO of SYSTRA with Jean-Charles Vollery, COO of SYSTRA and Arnaud Jeudy, CFAO of SYSTRA, in Copenhagen, Denmark, on August 31st to welcome our new colleagues

The SYSTRA Group has been present in the Nordic countries for over 10 years, and has been involved in numerous projects and emblematic ongoing projects such as :

• in Denmark, the Copenhagen automatic metro since 2007, the electrification of the entire Danish rail network since 2013, and the automation of the S-STOG suburban trains since 2021;
• in Sweden, the Ostlänken high-speed line since 2015, the Uppsala tramway since 2021 and the Kolmården since 2023;
• and in Norway, the Follo-Line high-speed line tunnel since 2018, the Vestfold Nykirke – Barkåker line since 2019 and the Grenland bridge since 2021.