Fluor led consortium preferred for Denver rail

A Fluor and Macquarie Capital Group led consortium has been selected as the preferred bidder by the Regional Transportation District (RTD) in Denver, Colorado, US for a PPP contract to design, build and operate the area's Eagle commuter rail project.

The Eagle project is part of RTD's FasTracks Plan, a 12-year, multi-billion dollar transit expansion programme established to build and operate new commuter and light rail services throughout the eight county area.

The consortium will be responsible for the design, build, operation, maintenance and financing of the public private partnership (PPP) project that includes the construction of a new 38 km long commuter rail line from Union Station to Denver International Airport and a new 18 km commuter rail line from Union Station to Wheat Ridge. The consortium will also be responsible for the construction of the initial 3.2 km segment of the Northwest Rail Corridor and a new rail maintenance facility as well as the delivery of 50 electric-powered commuter carriages.

Fluor has a 50% interest in the engineering, procurement and construction contract, a 33% share in the operations and maintenance contract and a 10% equity share in the concession's special purpose vehicle that will raise the funding for the project.

Head of Fluor's infrastructure business Patrick Flaherty said, "This is a significant, prestigious and strategic selection. We expect this to be the first of many public private partnership transit projects procured under the availability method in the US in the coming years. We are delighted to have been selected by the Denver RTD."

Mr Flaherty said that the entire team is looking forward to helping the RTD realise its FasTracks vision. "We are committed to working closely with local businesses and other stakeholders to involve them in the project and increase the long-term competitiveness of the Denver area," he said.

Other members of the consortium include Balfour Beatty Rail, Ames Construction, Hyundai-Rotem USA, Alternative Concepts Inc, Post, Buckley, Schuh & Jernigan Inc (PBS&J), Parsons Brinckerhoff, Interfleet Technology, Systra and Wabtec.