ESTONIA: Infrastructure manager Eesti Raudtee has awarded a joint venture of Spanish engineering companies Ardanuy Ingeneria and Ayesa Ingenieria y Arquitectura a €3·7m contract to produce the technical requirements and preliminary designs for its 500 track-km 25 kV 50 Hz electrification programme.
Ardanuy said the contract would consolidate its presence in Estonia, where the company has also worked for Rail Baltica project promoter RB Rail.
Eesti Raudtee said there had been great interest in the procurement, with companies from Finland and Germany also reaching the second stage of the bidding process.
The first phase of the contract covers the preparation of technical plans for the entire electrification programme. This will be followed by the preparation by early 2022 of preliminary designs for the Aegviidu – Tapa – Tartu route, where wiring is planned by the end of 2024.
The entire electrification project is expected to be completed by the end of 2028, under a programme to reduce the environmental impact of the country’s transport sector, raise speeds and enhance operational performance.
