OHLA adds a new international achievement to its trajectory with the inauguration of the Ski project, a railway initiative within the framework of the Follo Line project, the largest transport project developed in Norway. Nearly 100,000 passengers will benefit from this infrastructure that includes a series of actions with a high sustainable value and that have a positive impact on the connections with Oslo, on the accessibility of the users and on the protection of the environment.

At the request of the Norwegian National Rail Infrastructure Administration and worth approximately NOK 2.5 billion (290 million euros), OHLA has carried out a new route from the south exit of the Follo Line tunnels to the south of the city of Ski. In total, 3.5 km of track with 13.6 km of ballasted track and 40 turnouts. In addition, the project includes the construction of the Ski station, with six tracks, three central platforms with their corresponding roofs and an underpass. OHLA has also been responsible for the realization of a road bridge over the new tracks, a new bus terminal, bicycle parking facilities and the extension of the existing parking lot, as well as new roads with sidewalks and technical buildings.

The new infrastructure is designed to reach speeds of up to 250 km/hour, which will reduce travel time by 50%, from 22 to 11 minutes. It will also facilitate the transport of goods, which will result in the economic and commercial development of the region, and will favor the connection with the continent through a possible high-speed railroad.

Follo Line

The Follo Line project is currently Norway’s largest infrastructure initiative. It consists of a 20 km long tunnel, the longest tunnel to date in the Nordic countries and Norway’s first long railway tunnel with separate tubes.  It is one of the first tunnels in the country to be excavated by tunnel boring machine and forms the central part of the InterCity development to the south of Oslo.         

A benchmark in the railway field

OHLA has developed railway projects in Europe, Asia, Africa and America. It has a track record of nearly 200 projects executed in the field of the Spanish High Speed Railway since it was launched in 1988. In addition, the company has accumulated more than seventy years of experience in the development of railway infrastructures.

Among the most important contracts awarded abroad are the Haramain High-Speed Railway project between the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, the Ankara-Istanbul high-speed line in Turkey, in service since 2009, as well as the execution of major projects for the modernization of rail corridors in the Czech Republic and its contribution to the development and improvement of the New York subway network.

The Ski project is the company’s first contract in Norway. Also, in northern Europe, in Sweden, OHLA is working on the project to improve the Lund-Arlöv railway line (Malmö) and is carrying out various actions in the Stockholm metro.