A new station at the foot of the Alps

In the heart of the Alpine valley, a feat is being prepared: the construction of the longest basic railway tunnel in the world, namely a tunnel located at the foot of the Alps. The base tunnel’s mission is to connect France and Italy quickly and sustainably, but its arrival requires, as was the case with the construction of the Channel Tunnel, the development of new infrastructure on both sides of the tunnel.

A new international station in St Jean de Maurienne

Situated just a short distance from the entrance to the new tunnel, the railway site at Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne is undergoing huge changes thanks this project. The whole of its 3.8km-long railway line, as well as the public areas of the station, will have to be adapted to the arrival of the new line, with the circulation of international high-speed trains.

To this end, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne will be equipped with an international station. It will be able to accommodate tourist flows and direct them towards regional and inter-city lines.

There are many challenges on this project: the small size of the valley and access to the town, but also the integration of the project into the local area, with a vital consultation component to ensure the support of elected representatives and local residents. Reducing the noise pollution caused by the construction site and integrating the project into the existing urban area will be crucial, as will the continuity of traffic on the historic Culoz – Modane line throughout the work. Environmental requirements are the other strong marker of this future infrastructure, which will have to combine sobriety, functionality, and architectural features, and to which teams specialising in sustainable design will be associated.

Clément Duflos, Deputy Project Manager

This contract directly interfaces with another project management assignment, the redevelopment of the railway beam linking Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne station to the tunnel entrance, which began in 2018 for SNCF Réseau. We rely on the relationships established locally to optimise the design process, which includes a significant amount of consultation, as well as the success of the works and the associated logistics. SYSTRA is consolidating its position as a major player, partnering with TELT and SNCF-R for the overall management of operations and their interfaces in this particular territory.

Benjamin Serre, Project Director

SYSTRA’s total commitment to the TELT project

In addition to the international station and work on the Maurienne rail link, SYSTRA is involved in two civil engineering project management groups for TELT SAS, the owner of the future tunnel. We are working on work packages 2 (on the French side) and 4 (on the Italian side), as well as supervising work on the Italian exit of the tunnel at the La Maddalena work base.

More information: https://www.telt-sas.com/en/