BergerWorld: 3rd Quarter 2005

Reaching speeds in excess of 300 kilometers per hour, France's high speed rail network is one of the finest in the world. This network, owned by Reseau Ferre de France (RFF) and operated by Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français, currently includes five high speed (TGV) lines linking Paris to Lyon, Tours, LeMans, Lille, Brussels, Marseille, Montpellier and the Chunnel. Since this service opened to the public in 1981, the TGV lines have been a huge success, serving 240,000 passengers daily and reducing travel times between cities by half. RFF is currently expanding the high speed rail network to include a new 300-kilometer line from Tours to Bordeaux, scheduled to open in 2015.

Currently, a trip between Paris and Bordeaux takes approximately three hours; on the new line it will take two hours and 10 minutes. The new line will reduce congestion within the existing network, improve freight and local services and eventually become an important international link between France, Spain and Portugal.

As part of this €1.7 billion project, Louis Berger SAS is providing engineering and tendering consulting services for the development of the 120-kilometer North Angouleme to Bordeaux section. Berger rail specialists met with RFF officials and identified the client's needs and desired timetable, then developed detailed work plans and schedules. Team members also drafted a target budget to ensure that the new line is as financially successful as previous links. Currently, RFF is considering a number of funding options, including public financing for design-tender-construction, public financing for a design-build contract and a public-private partnership. Berger financial specialists reviewed each type of financing and ensured that the recommended budget and time schedule would be flexible enough to accommodate each option. Following the development of the detailed budget, Berger specialists drafted bid documents and terms of reference and will assist RFF in selecting a contractor.

Paralleling South Korea's remarkable economic growth, transportation demand since 1968 has increased dramatically. The Berger Group has worked closely with Korean transportation officials and planners during this remarkable period to accommodate demand through the development of a nationwide highway and expressway program, the Incheon and Pusan International Airports, the 412-kilometer Seoul-Pusan high speed rail line and the Seoul-Kangnung rail line. Currently, transportation officials are planning a new 336-kilometer high speed rail link to serve the industrialized Honam Corridor between Seoul and Gwangju City. The new line will carry up to 48,000 passengers daily by 2030.

The Berger Group was selected by the Korea Transportation Institute and the Ministry of Construction and Transport to evaluate the feasibility of this $9 billion project and update preliminary designs for the line. The Team began by reviewing a number of recent high speed rail projects then evaluated design criteria, ridership forecasts and transportation demand within the Honam Corridor. Experienced rail specialists reviewed four prospective routes and locations for the stations, maintenance facilities and depots. Team members then examined the economic and technical feasibility of each alternative to ensure the maximum benefit from the investment. Given the high traffic, growth rates and the limited capacity to expand the road network, the Team found that Korea would continue to require significant investments in its rails system to meet growing demand. Following the selection of the most attractive alignment, Korean rail experts prepared a detailed design based on Berger's design criteria.

The Mitsubishi Corporation is Japan's largest trading company with offices in more than 80 nations around the world. Mitsubishi is also a major investor in a number of industries, including transportation, energy, machinery and chemicals. To better understand and respond to recent changes in the passenger rail and public transit sectors, Mitsubishi selected the Berger Group to evaluate and describe industrywide trends and identify market opportunities.

The Berger team identified and reviewed 190 recent worldwide projects, analyzed key trends and opportunities and current investment strategies, including outsourcing, concessions and build-operate-transfer agreements. Berger specialists then used case studies to evaluate successful consortiums, identify appropriate management strategies and suggest profitable investment opportunities.

High-speed inter-urban passenger service is increasingly drawing the attention of transportation planners and policy makers throughout the world. Following the earlier Japanese and French initiation of high speed passenger service, most systems have continued to rely on traditional rails. But a number of countries are investigating magnetic levitation, or MagLev. MagLev technology uses non-contact electromagnetic systems which lift, guide and move the train, eliminating friction and allowing trains to move at up to 300 miles per hour.

The U.S. government has earmarked $950 million to develop a MagLev system. As part of this initiative, the Berger Group was selected by the Abell Foundation to evaluate the economic impacts of a proposed MagLev route between Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD, and Union Station in Washington DC.

The Berger team began by studying population, land use and employment trends in the Baltimore-Washington corridor, as well as current and future traffic demand. Berger team members also analyzed the initial capital costs and long-term operations and maintenance requirements. The study found that through improved accessibility, Baltimore will be able to increase its regional competitiveness. The new MagLev system will directly create 16,000 jobs and support the creation of an additional 20,000 related jobs while attracting 36,000 riders per day, including 13 percent of the passengers using Baltimore International Airport. In addition to spurring regional development and accelerating the integration of the Washington and Baltimore economies by reducing the journey between the cities to only 20 minutes, MagLev will encourage the development of new technologies and systems, provide new business opportunities to the region and increase tourism.