A consortium lead by France's VINCI is awarded for a $220m contract to bore deep ventilation shafts, galleries and caverns for the  57km Lyon–Turin rail tunnel. Consortium is composed of INCI Construction France (65%), alongside Webuild (33%) and Bergteamet (2%).

VINCI releases the following press information:

VINCI Construction wins the contract for the preparatory work on the Avrieux shafts for the Lyon–Turin rail line

10 July 2020 - 5:45 pm - New contracts - France
• Construction of four 500-metre-deep ventilation shafts, galleries and seven caverns
• A €220 million contract

The owner, TELT (Tunnel Euralpin Lyon Turin), has awarded works package 5A of the Lyon–Turin rail line to a consortium* led by VINCI Construction Grands Projets. The works package involves preparatory work perpendicular to the future safety site at Modane, near the midpoint of the 57.5-kilometre base tunnel that will connect the international stations in Saint Jean de Maurienne (France) and Susa (Italy).

The €220 million contract for works package 5A involves construction of the four 500-metre-deep Avrieux shafts using raise-boring machines (mechanical excavators operating from the base of the future shafts). This technique optimises work safety, costs and time. The work also involves digging galleries and seven caverns, using conventional methods (explosives), at the foot of the existing Villarodin Bourget–Modane decline, which is up to 22 metres high and 23 metres wide.

The project will employ up to 250 people over the coming 36 months.

The Lyon–Turin line is part of a programme designed to upgrade passenger travel and expand trade in Europe. It is setting in motion a transition that will make transport more sustainable by shifting longdistance freight from roads to rail lines. By 2030, the Lyon–Turin rail line will replace 1 million heavy vehicles on Alpine roads and lower greenhouse gas emissions by about 3 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year.

VINCI Construction is applying its expertise in underground works in several countries, notably on public transport projects aimed at fostering sustainable development in host cities and regions. VINCI Construction subsidiaries are working on several rail transport systems in the United Kingdom (HS2), Ottawa (new LRT system), France (several Grand Paris Express projects), Doha (two metro and LRT lines), New Zealand (Auckland's City Rail Link), Hong Kong and Singapore (Thomson Line).

* The consortium encompasses VINCI Construction subsidiaries VINCI Construction Grands Projets (lead), Dodin Campenon Bernard and VINCI Construction France (65%), alongside Webuild (33%) and Bergteamet (2%).

image:VINCI

https://www.vinci.com/vinci.nsf/en/press-releases/pages/20200710-1745.htm