The Sud Europe Atlantique high-speed line (SEA)

The Sud Europe Atlantique high-speed line (SEA) between Tours and Bordeaux in France comprises 340 km of new lines, made up of 302 km of high-speed lines and around 40 km of connections to the existing conventional railway infrastructure. The SEA project has been realised through a DBFOT (Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer) PPP awarded to the Vinci group and is worth 7 billion EUR (investment budget).

Our mission

Based on its extensive and in-depth high-speed railway engineering expertise acquired through the realisation of the Belgian high-speed railway network, TUC RAIL was asked to join a consortium for applying for the assignment of Independent Technical Body for this important project. The consortium got awarded the contract and TUC RAIL was responsible for all the independent technical assessment services related to railway systems (track, OHLE, power supply, signalling, telecommunications and interoperability). Its task was to assess the technical conformity and compliance of the design and construction of the new line with the applicable technical norms and standards (including Technical Specifications for Interoperability) as well as with the best practices in the design and construction of railways.

In particular, TUC RAIL was also in charge of the in-depth analysis of the signalling systems design to ensure that ETCS level 2, TVM430 and TVM300 were being designed and implemented to the highest quality and safety standards.