Lisbon - Porto high-speed
Country: Portugal
Type: High-speed
Construction start: 2024
Completion: 2030
The Portuguese government is planning to let a series of public-private partnership contracts for the first section of the Lisbon - Porto high-speed line with the first expected to be launched this month. The first stage of the high-speed line is divided into three sections: Porto - Oiã, Oiã - Soure and Soure - Carregado. Each will be built under a separate PPP, and the Oiã - Soure contract is expected to be let in the first half of this year. The Soure - Carregado contract is expected in two or three years. A concession contract for design, construction, maintenance, and financing will be signed for each of the PPPs. At an estimated cost of €4.5bn, the Lisbon - Porto broad-gauge high-speed line will connect the two cities in 1h 15min, also serving Leiria, Coimbra, Aveiro, and Vila Nova de Gaia. Construction work on the 143km Porto - Soure section is scheduled to be undertaken between 2024 and 2028, while the Soure - Carregado section will be built between 2026 and 2030.
CPK project
Country: Poland
Type: High-speed
Construction Start: 2023
Completion (first section): 2027
Length: 2000km
Central Communication Port (CPK) is taking forward the infrastructure programme centred on a new airport between Warsaw and Łódź, including 12 new high-speed lines totalling 2000km and the modernisation of 3700km of existing lines. The first high-speed line runs for 140km from Warsaw to Łódź via the new airport. The first design contract for the route from Warsaw to the transport hub at the new airport has been awarded to the Biuro Projektów Metroprojekt consortium and Sud Architekt Polska. Design of the remaining section to Łódź has been awarded to a consortium of Egis Poland, Egis Rail and Jaf-Geotechnika. Preparatory work on the Warsaw - Łódź high-speed line started at the end of 2023, which will be followed by main works in 2024. The airport and this line are scheduled to open at the end of 2027.
Turin - Lyon high-speed
Country: Italy/France
Type: High-speed
Construction Start: 2018
Completion: 2030
Length: 270km
Cost: $US 27bn
The Turin - Lyon freight and passenger railway, of which 70% is in France and 30% is in Italy, is divided into three sections. Construction of the €8.6bn 65km cross-border section of the new line is underway from Susa to Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, of which 57.5km consists of the Mont Cenis base tunnel. The Franco-Italian company Tunnel Euralpin Lyon Turin (Telt) is responsible for this section. Italian Rail Network (RFI) is responsible for the Italian part from Bussoleno in the Susa Valley to Turin, while French National Railways (SNCF) is leading the French section from Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Lyon. Construction of these two sections, which have another 104.5km of tunnels, is well underway. Around 80% of the capacity of the line will be used by freight trains.
Transpennine route upgrade
Country: Britain
Type: Upgrading
Construction Start: 2023
Completion: 2041
Length: 121.6km
Cost: £11.5bn
The Transpennine route upgrade project involves electrifying and increasing the capacity of the main line linking Manchester, Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds and York. The line has 9.6km of tunnels, numerous bridges and viaducts and 29 level crossings. The project now includes building a new through station in Bradford. Last month the government announced £3.9bn in funding to accelerate the project to build Bradford’s new station and purchase 29 electric trains.
Dart+ West
Country: Ireland
Type: Commuter rail
Construction Start: 2025
Completion: 2028
Length: 40km
Cost: €1.75bn
The Dart+ West project involves the electrification at 1.5kV dc of 40km of existing railway from Dublin Connolly and a new station at Spencer Dock to Maynooth, plus the branch from Clonsilla to M3 Parkway, in order to operate 12 trains per hour and carry up to 14,000 passengers per hour in each direction. Work will also include the abolition of six level crossings and the construction of a new EMU maintenance depot west of Maynooth. This route will be the first to be upgraded under the Dart+ Programme, which Irish Rail (IÉ) is undertaking to extend the length of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (Dart) commuter network from 50km to 150km. Subsequent phases will see electrification of the lines from Dublin Heuston to Hazelhatch & Celbridge, and from Malahide to Drogheda, as well as providing double track between Bray and Greystones.
Melbourne suburban rail loop
Country: Australia
Type: Commuter rail
Construction start: 2022
Completion: 2053
Length: 90km
Cost: $US 34bn
The Melbourne Rail Suburban Loop (SRL) will link every major commuter rail service from the Frankston Line to the Werribee Line as well as Melbourne Airport via three transport hubs at Clayton, Broadmeadows and Sunshine. This will make it possible for passengers to travel suburb to suburb without having to pass through the congested city centre to reach major hospitals, universities and employment centres. The project is divided into sections. Construction of SRL East from Cheltenham to Box Hill is already underway. Last month, the Victorian state government signed the first major construction contract for the $A 34.5bn ($US 22.67bn) eastern section only days after the state Ombudsman criticised how the project was conceived. SRL Airport will connect Melbourne Airport to the rail network at Sunshine. SRL West will run from Sunshine to Werribee, and SRL North will link Box Hill to Melbourne Airport and will be completed by 2053.
Sydney City and South-West Metro
Country: Australia
Type: Metro
Construction Start: 2018
Completion (first phase): 2024
Length: 30km
Cost: $US 13.2bn
The fully automated line is a 15.5km extension of the existing North-West Line. It will run south from Chatswood to North Sydney, under Sydney Harbour, through the city centre and south to Bankstown. Tracklaying has been completed and testing and commissioning is underway. The metro will incorporate Sydney Trains’ 14.5km line between Sydenham and Bankstown once it has been upgraded and converted to driverless metro operation. The conversion of the Bankstown Line is likely to require a shutdown of up to 12 months, commencing between July and October 2024. The cost of the project has increased from its initial estimate of $US 12.59bn.
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