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On 15 November 2017, the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) Board of Directors approved the awarding of a contract for early train operator services to DB Engineering and Consulting USA. The early train operator will assist the CHSRA with planning, designing, and implementing the nation’s first true high-speed rail program. The contract will be performance based, with a not-to-exceed amount of US$30 million for the first phase of the contract.
“Today’s board action is a major step forward for California’s High-Speed Rail Program,” said Board Chair Dan Richard. “Bringing on an early train operator during the current design and development phase of the program will allow us to infuse commercial thinking into the design of the system, including station layout, technical specifications, and strategies to improve asset performance and control costs. As far as we know, this approach of bringing a commercial operator into a design phase is unique for major infrastructure projects.”
DB Engineering and Consulting USA will act as lead operator, with its partner company, Deutsche Bahn AG, acting as a guarantor. DB Engineering and Consulting has engaged Alternate Concepts, Inc., and HDR, Inc., as subconsultants. Deutsche Bahn AG has more than 750 affiliates, with its main companies offering global mobility and logistical services in more than 130 countries worldwide.
Deutsche Bahn AG and its subsidiaries provide services in the fields of passenger transport as well as freight transport and logistics, and they operate an extensive rail infrastructure. Deutsche Bahn AG is a joint stock corporation; its shares are held entirely by the Federal Republic of Germany.
“Proposition 1A, the High-Speed Rail Bond Act, authorizes us not only to construct a high-speed rail system, but requires that the system be a commercially viable enterprise that does not require an operating subsidy. Many large infrastructure programs are designed and built without sufficient attention to operating needs or operations and maintenance costs. This step of engaging an early operator allows us to design a system for optimum commercial performance,” added Richard.
The 2016 business plan called for the engagement of an early train operator to ensure that its perspective is considered in the planning and design of track, systems, high-speed trains (rolling stock), and stations. Engaging an operator in early decisions on safety, operations, equipment and systems, fare structures, and schedules as well as other commercial and operating elements will ensure that the system is designed to operate as a safe and successful enterprise.
Full article: IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, Volume 13, Number 1, March 2018 |
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