Project description:
The Perpignan - Figueras project consisted of the construction of a 44.4 km mixed passenger and freight railway line (24.6 km on the French side and 19.8 km on the Spanish side) between Perpignan (France) and Figueras (Spain). The line crosses the French-Spanish border through an 8.4 km tunnel, the Perthus tunnel, through the Pyrenees.
The objective of this international rail corridor is to provide an uninterrupted connection between the Spanish high-speed rail network and the French high-speed rail network using the same standard UIC 1,435 mm gauge.
In February 2004, the concession for the new 44.4 km railway line was awarded for a period of 50 years (5 years for the construction period and 45 years for the operation) to "TP Ferro", a consortium established by Eiffage and ACS-Dragados. The PPP (Public-Private Partnership) contract for this project is DBFMOT (= Design, Build, Finance, Maintain, Operate, Transfer).
TUC RAIL's mission:
In December 2001, the French construction group Eiffage commissioned TUC RAIL to study the design of an 8.4 km-long tunnel under the Pyrenees and assist in the preparation of tenders.
Since 2004, TUC RAIL has been involved in this project on two levels:
- TUC RAIL participated in the temporary "Groupement d'Ingénieries" association with the construction group TEP; and
- TUC RAIL has carried out a consultancy mission with the contractor TP Ferro.
The first mission included the study and development of the technical part of the system (preliminary and detailed design studies), the monitoring and approval of the execution studies (VISA) and the supervision and control of the works in fields such as track, catenary, power supply, signalling, telecommunication, safety and FDMS (Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, Safety). TUC RAIL also provided assistance in the development of the tunnel studies for the "sonic boom" part.
The second mission consisted of technical assistance during the preparation of the operation, maintenance and certification manuals and during the writing of the final FDMS dossier.
TUC RAIL also provided technical assistance to Scott-Wilson on this project by performing risk analyses related to external factors that could influence the various stages of the project, from studies to certification.
