Bowen wins €125m Luas and rail contracts

TWO major State transport contracts worth a combined €125 million have been won by The Bowen Group.

The two projects involve the extension of the Luas system in Dublin and the development of care and maintenance facilities for Iarnród Éireann’s new fleet of trains.

The Luas contract is for the building of the Cherrywood extension from Sandyford, Co Dublin, to St Stephen’s Green involving 7.5km of new track and the development of 12 new Luas line stops.

Meanwhile, construction is already under way on the Portlaoise Traincare Depot, where maintenance will be carried out by Bowen for Iarnród Éireann.

The Luas contract is worth an estimated €85m and is a Sacyr-Bowen-Somague joint venture initiative.

Design of this phase of the Luas has already begun and construction is scheduled to start in February 2008. It is expected the project will take 32 months to complete.

The Portlaoise Traincare Depot contract was awarded to a Bowen-Somague joint venture and is worth €40m.

It involves the design, construction, testing and commissioning of the depot and the training of staff in the use of systems. The depot is due for completion in March 2008.

Irish Rail has invested in a new fleet of Intercity service rail cars and the Portlaoise Traincare Depot will provide a dedicated servicing facility for the maintenance and upkeep of these new carriages.