Rapid follow-up RGB – 2018/2022 campaign

As part of its Major Network Modernisation Plan (GPMR), SNCF Réseau has awarded lot 1 of the new ‘rapid renewal’ contract to a consortium comprising ETF, a subsidiary of Eurovia (VINCI), MECCOLI (lead contractor), VFLI and SFERIS. This new contract covers the renewal of nearly 200 km of railway track per year. The contract, awarded to ETF, includes the renewal of track components (rails, sleepers, ballast and rail fastenings) in various regions of France. It covers a fixed period of five years, from 2018 to 2022, plus two optional years. The duration of the contract thus offers greater visibility over time and allows for optimisation of the resources mobilised. New tasks are also being entrusted to the consortium, such as electrical signalling work and the autonomous operation of work trains. These regeneration projects will be carried out using a ‘rapid suite’: a veritable rolling factory that incorporates numerous machines and equipment to refurbish the entire track in a very limited time, in order to cause as little disruption as possible to train traffic. This process makes it possible to renew nearly 1 kilometre of track per day, instead of a maximum of 150 metres using conventional methods. Ultimately, the work will provide passengers with greater comfort and regularity on the line. In order to limit the impact on traffic, passenger and freight trains will continue to run on the track parallel to the one under construction. To ensure the safety of the site, the consortium will be responsible, for the first time in this type of contract, for installing temporary speed restriction signals and announcements of traffic on the track.