Colas Rail Consortium Build Tunis High-Speed Rail Line

European rail infrastructure services company Colas Rail, in a consortium with Siemens and Tunisian firm Somatra-Get, has won a €145m contract to build the first two lines (D and E) on the RFR high-speed railway network in Tunis, Tunisia.

Colas Rail has a share of €86m in the contract and will be responsible for works related to the track, catenary networks and power supply, as well as depot equipment and system integration for the 20km route.
Funding for the project has been provided by a consortium of international banks, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), Agence Française du Développement (AFD) and German banking institution KFW, along with the Tunisian Government.
Construction work on the project is scheduled to start in mid-2014 and is expected to be completed in 46 months.
Colas Rail has also built the Rabat tramway and a section of the Casablanca tramway in Morocco.
The recent contract marks the first project in Tunisia for Colas Rail in the African region, and follows its €85m contract for the extension of Line 1 on the Algiers Metro, which was secured in October 2012.