NIRAS wins a historically large railway project in Norway

Kongsvingerbanen is a railway line from Lillestrøm and Kongsvinger in Norway to Charlottenberg in Sweden, and the railway project will contribute to reaching the overall outcome of increasing the capacity of long freight trains on Kongsvingerbanen.

The project is the first of three collections of contracts and includes the following actions to achieve the goals set in the following impact packages:

• More well-functioning trains on Vestfoldbanen (Impact package 04) – Provision in the area of Kongsvinger.
• Freights on the railway (Impact package 13) – Increased terminal capacity in the area of Kongsvinger.
• Combined transportation (Impact package 14) – Combined transportation Oslo – Narvik via Sweden.

The contract assigned to NIRAS also includes four sub-projects, and NIRAS will deliver advisory services to the following initiatives:

• Rånåsfoss station – Renovation of existing train stations with new trail solutions, new platforms, new elevated footbridge, etc.
• Bodung crossing track – New crossing track.
• Seterstøa level crossing - Renovation of the current level crossing and replacement with a new plan sign solution.
• Galterud crossing track - New crossing track.

Previously, NIRAS has prepared a technical plan for Bodung, Galterud and Seterstøa level crossings,  giving NIRAS solid expertise and competencies required to tackle the projects. Additionally, the project manager of two of the former projects for Bane NOR has joined NIRAS, strengthening the team’s competencies furthermore.

Solid experience, competencies and quality are essential

“It is fantastic that we’ve won again based on quality, competencies and our ability to understand specific problems in the projects. Scoring 10 out of 10 on quality, while our competitors placed lower, is a testament to our solid performance, great collaboration and excellent understanding of the customer’s needs,” says Theis Tarp Rasmussen, Director of NIRAS Norway. For Theis, this is a great recognition from Bane NOR of the competencies in NIRAS. It is also worth mentioning that NIRAS provided the highest price in the tender, meaning the team was awarded the contract due to solid experience, competencies and quality.

Christian Nielsen, Project Director of NIRAS Norway, says, “This project gives a unique opportunity to continue our journey with a special focus on developing the railway business in Norway. It’s fantastic to see how NIRAS has developed since its dedicated efforts in Norway started in 2017. It has been a fantastic journey to follow, first as a building owner/entrepreneur and almost two years as part of the team at NIRAS. We have a unique collaboration across the company and across markets, a strength not to be taken for granted.”

The contract is signed and the actual work begins in the summer and will accelerate in 2023 and 2024.