DENMARK: Infrastructure manager Banedanmark announced on May 18 that it had selected a joint venture of Per Aarsleff A/S, Siemens A/S and Siemens AG as preferred bidder to undertake the first phase of its national 25 kV 50 Hz electrification programme.
Final negotiations are now underway, with a view to the contract being finalised by the end of the month.
Banedanmark CEO Jesper Hansen said the infrastructure manager had received four strong bids, which were evaluated using criteria which balanced price against the technical offer and the ability to complete the project on time with as little disruption to passengers as possible.
Aarsleff/Siemens was considered to have submitted the most economically advantageous bid, beating offers from ASB Consortium (Alstom, Bravida Danmark and SPL Powerlines), Strukton/Balfour Beatty and Obrascon Huarte Lain/TSO.
The electrification programme will start with the 57 km Esbjerg – Lunderskov line, which is to be completed by the second half of the 2016. This will be followed by Køge Nord – Næstved, Ringsted – Rødby (for the Fehmarn Belt tunnel) and the København – Ringsted new line, a total of 550 track-km.
The contract will contain options for further routes. The electrification of 1 300 km of the network at a cost of DKr12bn is envisaged by 2026, and the government’s DKr28·5bn Togfonden DK financial package has already allocated funding for wiring the Fredericia – Aalborg, Aalborg – Frederikshavn, Vejle – Struer and Roskilde – Kalundborg lines.
The work needs to be co-ordinated with other major projects, including the current roll-out ETCS Level 2 and other infrastructure upgrades which are to be undertaken to facilitate the launch of a national regular-interval timetable.
