Norway moves ahead with high speed rail
Oct 2011
Skanska News Release
- The Norwegian National Rail Administration (Jerbaneverket) has awarded a NOK1.36 billion (US$243 million) tunnelling and station contract to Swedish construction Skanska.
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Drammen Station on the Vestfold Line
- The company has been contracted to build part of the double track high-speed railway on the Vestfold Line south-west of Oslo. The station project awarded covers a 2,370m tunnel and the construction of the 866m station hall as well as 1,000m of drainage tunnels.
- Upgrades to the Vestfold Line are aimed at improving journey times between Drammen and Porgrunn and are part of major rail programmes planned for Norway, including the new 24km long Oslo-Ski high-speed route on the Follo Line, some 18km of which is in twin-tube rock tunnels. The new Vestfold route is to be adapted for future train speeds of up to 250km/h.
- "This is an important project for us," said Petter Eiken, Business Unit President of Skanska Norway. "The project is in line with our strategy to be at the heart of large and complex civil engineering projects. It is very gratifying that Jernbaneverket has chosen to work with us."
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Upgrading the Vestfold line is part of wider infrastructure plan
- The project is scheduled to be completed in 2015.
- Upgrade of the Vestfold Line, south-west of Oslo, is split into several projects. One of the largest is a new 14km double track section that will replace a current 15km single-track service from Holm to Nykirke in the northern part of Vestfold. This new section includes a 12.3km rock tunnel and a new underground station through and under the town of Holmestrand. Construction started in August 2010 and will be completed in 2015.
- On the Line's Farriseidet-Porsgrunn section, a new alignment of double track railway will replace the current track, which is outdated and has many tight curves. The new route of 23km includes seven rock tunnels of between 110m and 4,700m long for a total of 14.5km, and will reduce travel time between Larvik and Porsgunn from 34 to 12 minutes. Construction is due to start 2012 and be completed in 2016.
- Once completed the new works will reduce journey times from Tønsberg to Oslo to an hour, compared to the current 90 minutes, and will save an hour on journeys between Skien and Oslo.
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Direct twin-tube route for Oslo-Ski railway - TunnelTalk, Oct 2010
International bid for Norway rail project - TunnelTalk, Dec 2008
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