Algeria: Building The “Mecheria – Tabia”, “Saida – Moulay Slissen” And “Saida – Tiaret” Lines For Astaldi S.P.A.

ALGERIA: BUILDING THE “MECHERIA – TABIA” LINE

Opportunity:

A need had arisen to build a railway line to connect mining areas in the country’s south to the existing railway network for transporting both freight and passengers.

Project:

SITE S.p.A., awarded a turnkey contract, built the 220 km long “Mecheria – Tabia” line. The line connects the southern mining areas (Bechar Mining Department) with the north of the country. SITE S.p.A. built the telecommunications and energy systems, handling the entire process, from system architectural design to commissioning. In partnership with a producer of signalling systems, SITE also installed the railway signalling system. The line was inaugurated in March 2012. The integrated telecommunications system includes a redundant optical fibre line, an SDH data transport system, and systems for administrative telephony, operational telephony and chronometry, as well as a GSM-R network. The integrated energy system includes an ASI system consisting of generators, UPS systems with Ni-Cd backup batteries, electrical panels and transformers, lighting and air conditioning systems. In all that regarded the signalling system, SITE S.p.A. was in charge of all on-site activities, managing construction site operations – from installing system components to commissioning the entire system. For that system, SITE S.p.A. also provided materials such as ZPAU cables, signalling steelwork, key transmitters (AuAg), ATR, LED signals, railway signage, junction boxes and switches, etc.

Advantages:

Building the “Mecheria – Tabia” railway line is part of a larger plan to upgrade the railway network connecting the north and the south of the country. The main advantage enjoyed by both the client and the end customer was having a single-stop company, SITE S.p.A., to manage the project (and its contract), with system integration capabilities and therefore able to oversee design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning operations at an integrated project level.

Prospects:

In 2016, also due to the completion of the “Mecheria – Tabia” railway link, the Algerian Ministry of Industry and Mines launched new economic projects in the Bechar mining area for mining, besides coal, also manganese and barite.

ALGERIA: BUILDING THE “SAIDA – MOULAY SLISSEN”, “SAIDA – TIARET” LINE

Opportunity: A need has arisen to build an east-west mixed railway line – for passengers and freight – across the “Hauts Plateaux”.

Project:

SITE S.p.A., awarded a turnkey contract, built the 120 km long “Saida – Moulay Slissen” railway line. The line is the first western part of the railway network known as “Hauts Plateaux” (Ain Touta – M’Sila – Ain Oussera – Tiaret – Saida – Moulay Slissen) to offer a mixed, passengers and freight, service, to be integrated with a modernised and upgraded “East-West” network (Orano – Algiers – Annaba). SITE is also working on the construction of the 153 km long “Saida – Tiaret” railway line. That line is the second western part of the “Hauts Plateaux” railway network.

SITE S.p.A. built integrated telecommunications and energy systems and, in partnership with a producer of signalling systems, also installed railway signalling systems. The first line was to be inaugurated in the first half of 2017.

The integrated telecommunications system includes a redundant fibre optic line, an SDH data transport system and systems for administrative telephony, operating telephony, chronometry, GSM-R network, passenger information, video surveillance, access control, supervision and control, and ticketing. The integrated energy system includes an ASI system consisting of generators, UPS systems with backup batteries, electrical panels and transformers, lighting and air conditioning systems.

In all that regarded the signalling system, SITE S.p.A. was in charge of all on-site activities, managing construction site operations – from installing system components to commissioning the entire system.

For that system, SITE S.p.A. also provided materials such as ZPAU cables, signalling structural work, key transmission units (AuAg), ATR, LED signs, railway signage, junction boxes and switches, etc.

Advantages:

Building the “Saida – Moulay slissen” railway line and the “Saida – Tiaret” line is part of a larger plan to upgrade the East-West “Hauts Plateaux” railway network. The main advantage enjoyed by both the client and the end customer was having a single-stop company, SITE S.p.A., to manage the project (and its contract), with system integration capabilities and therefore able to oversee design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning operations at an integrated project level.

Prospects:
SITE S.p.A. is set to take part also in the building of the “Ain Touta – M’Sila – Ain Oussera – Tiaret – Saida – Moulay Slissen” line. With its extensive experience acquired in the Italian and international railway sector, the company has become a world leader in the fields of telecommunications and energy as well as in that of managing integrated railway technologies.