Eiffage and Captrain consortium selected for France rail work

Eiffage, a civil engineering construction company, said the value could rise to more than $863 million with the activation of extendible annual tranches.

“The first contract covers the replacement of track equipment for the Atlantique, [Paris] Nord, and Sud-Est high-speed lines,” said Eiffage. “The fixed tranche will run for four years (2025 to 2028) with an option for two additional years in 2029 and 2030.”

From 2025 and 2028, 49 pieces of track equipment will be replaced.

Eiffage noted the work will run on weekends with all rail traffic suspended, which will require “huge commitments of equipment and human resources – over one hundred workers per shift.”

The second contract will involve renovation of 524km of track across the entire French rail network. This firm tranche will run for three years (2025 to 2027) with an option for three additional years (2028 to 2030), said Eiffage.

“Work will mostly take place at night with around 400 employees from the two companies operating Eiffage Rail’s factory-trains and Captrain’s traction equipment,” Eiffage said. “These high-performance machines can renovate the rails, ballast, and sleepers for approximately 1,000m of track per shift, also ensuring that the line can be reopened to commercial rail traffic at the end of each shift.”

The company said it would promote recycling and reduction of the the operation’s carbon footprint throughout the contracts.

“For example, rail and sleeper panels will be cut up and reused on site, and from 2027 onward, hydrogen production and storage equipment will allow the locomotives to operate in hybrid electric/hydrogen mode,” said Eiffage.