UTRECHT, 12 May 2009 - Today, ProRail and the HanzaRailTeam signed the contract for the construction of the superstructure of the Hanzelijn. This is the biggest contract in the Hanzelijn construction project. The contract is worth 164 million euro. The construction will start at the beginning of 2010 and is expected to take two years. The new railway line will be ready for operation by the end of 2012.

The superstructure of the Hanzelijn includes ballast, track, catenary, signalling, baffle boards and rail dampers. The contract involves the construction of 13,000 rails, 133,000 sleepers, 400 kilometres of overhead wiring, 1,500 masts and 22 kilometres of baffle boards.

HanzaRailTeam
The HanzaRailTeam consortium will take care of the contract for the superstructure. Strukton Rail, VolkerRail and ARCADIS will be responsible for the design and construction of the tracks. Alstom will deliver the signalling systems. HanzaRailTeam is selected for the contract because they had the most cost-efficient proposal. Sustainability was also an important item in their offer, which e.g. includes geothermal points heating. 

The Hanzelijn
The Hanzelijn (Hanseatic line) is a new Dutch railway line connecting Lelystad with Zwolle. It will provide the currently missing rail link between Flevoland and the north-east of the Netherlands. Work on the line started in January 2007 and is planned for completion by the end of 2012. After completion, when the train journey between Lelystad and Zwolle will take 30 minutes, the north and northeast of the Netherlands will have come closer to the Randstad. The travelling time between Amsterdam and Zwolle will be reduced by 15 minutes. The construction of the Hanzelijn involves more than 1 billion euro.