Invensys Rail, a division of global technology group Invensys, has won two prestigious contracts worth 483 million euros ($664 million) for the Haramain High-Speed line in Saudi Arabia.

The company will provide all the signalling and train control systems for the line, which will link the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

Invensys Rail won the contract as part of the Saudi-Spanish Al Shoula consortium and its share of the three-year construction programme is expected to be 298 million euros. In addition to this, a 12-year maintenance contract has been signed worth 185 million euros.

The 444km Haramain railway will see trains run at 300 km/h between Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah and will be particularly important during the Haj pilgrimage period.

Invensys Rail's state-of-the-art European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) Level 2 train control system will provide passengers with a reliable and safe journey time between the two Haramain cities of less than two and a half hours, radically enhancing travel facilities in the region and matching the finest high-speed railways in the world, said a statement.

Meanwhile, Invensys Rail has also scored a landmark success in winning the 195 million euros signalling contract for Istanbul's ambitious 77km Bosphorus crossing rail link, the initial phase of which is due to open in 2013 - the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey.

In a joint venture with Spanish civil engineering company OHL, Invensys Rail will design and supply a new signalling and Automatic Train Protection system for the route, which makes use of the company's leading edge Sirius Communications Based Train Control (CBTC) and Futur ERTMS technologies.

The project will see a 1.2 km-immersed tunnel built along with 12 km of other new tracks and the upgrading of a further 63 km. When completed it will link the European and Asian sides of Istanbul and connect with the country's rapidly expanding high-speed rail network, of which Invensys Rail is signalling the Ankara - Konya route.

The company has has also won a GBP28 million contract for the signalling component of the next phase of Reading station's GBP400 million remodelling programme in teh UK.

Invensys Rail CEO and President Kevin Riddett said: 'To win any one of these contracts would be considered a huge success. That Invensys Rail's expertise and experience is going to transform the rail travel experience in three of the most exciting and demanding projects in the world is the highest compliment to the dedication and skill of our staff and those of our industry partners, who have worked tirelessly to deliver the best possible solution.

 'We are looking forward immensely to working with our clients in Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Kingdom to continue to enhance rail's unrivalled environmental, economic and social benefits all over the world.' - TradeArabia News Service