Aecom awarded contract for world's longest rail tunnel

US-based engineering firm Aecom has been awarded a contract to support the design and construction of the high-speed railway tunnel between Lyon, France and Turin, Italy. 

The €26-billion Tunnel Europlan Lyon Turin (TELT) project will play a major role in the EU's Mediterranean corridor, part of the bloc's wider Trans-European Transport Network.

The project's centrepiece is the 57.5 km (35.7 mile) twin-bored base tunnel - the longest of its kind ever built - which will cut through the Alps, connecting the high-speed rail networks of France and Italy.

The project, partially funded by the EU, has been a controversial one in Italy since it was first proposed thirty years ago. The incumbent coalition government in the country is split over both costs and environmental concerns.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has said that blocking the project would now cost more than completing it following the European Union's offer to increase its share of funding from 40% to 55%.

Javier Muñiz, head of Aecom in southern Europe, said his company was “leading a new wave of safe and efficient high-speed railway networks that promote habitable communities, reduce road congestion and consider the impact to global climate change”.

He said the project was “an example of a successful long-term collaboration between Southern Hub countries – Spain, France and Italy, and the global support of the AECOM experts”.

Colin Wood, Chief Capability Officer, EMEA, Aecom said his company was “extremely well placed to successfully deliver this exciting project”.

He added, “Providing safe, fast transport that reduces pollution and protects the environment, this railway will transform the way people and goods travel between France and Italy, building a legacy for generations to come”.

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