Interview with Mr. Bruno Vantu
Country Director, Egis Rail
For more than 40 years the design and construction of metros and railways has been at the center of our activity and is at the heart of our know-how.
Egis is a pioneer in many areas: design of tunnels and other underground structures, the use of the first Slurry Shield Tunnel Boring Machine in France, new track laying techniques, the conversion of existing networks into automatic systems and the modernization of equipment.
Our extensive experience and the expertise of its engineers has made Egis the leading engineering and consulting company for metros in France and a key player worldwide.
Egis’s teams are skilled both in the management of large complex projects and in the technical aspects such as track equipment, power supply, stations, operating systems, signaling, etc.)
INTERVIEW with Mr. Bruno Vantu
Rail Analysis India : Please tell us more about the rail & metro projects for which Egis is currently working and planning for undertaking in future ?
Mr. Bruno Vantu : Egis in India is currently working on a dozen rail and metro projects. Historically, we have built our presence here through major General Consultancy projects for metro : it started with Chennai Phase I in 2008, and it has been followed by Kolkata, Mumbai Line 3, Nagpur and more recently Pune. On these projects we participate in preliminary design, tendering and construction supervision. But we have widen our scope of services in India both in terms of expertise as well as products. We have undertaken civil structures detail design services for Kochi metro and currently provide similar services for Delhi – Meerut RRTS. We are also working for DFCC (Dedicated Freight corridor) both for public and private clients on Western and Eastern corridors.
“ The rail market in India is considered as one of the most dynamic, and I confirm that we still have some appetite to strengthen our activity here. We will definitely want to maintain our position of major player in General Consultancy for Metro projects, but won’t restrict to it. India has ambition for RRTS as well as high speed rail, we could want to be part of this dynamic. “
Rail Analysis India : Please brief us more about the role of Egis in the recently awarded consultancy contract of the Pune Metro rail project ?
Mr. Bruno Vantu : Egis and its partners have been appointed as General Consultant for Pune Metro Rail project at the end of 2017. We are preparing the preliminary design, assisting the client in the award of remaining tenders, supervising the execution of the works, monitoring the environmental follow-up and implementing the project management processes and tools. It represents an interesting challenge as the timelines are tight for this 2 lines, 30 km and 25 stations metro project.
Rail Analysis India : What are your plans for recently approved metro projects in Indian cities such as Agra, Meerut and Kanpur ?
Mr. Bruno Vantu : We would definitely want to maintain our position as a key player in the consultancy market for metro projects. These recently approved projects represent an opportunity for us to propose our wide range of services whether as general consultancy, detail design services or more specific expertise if required.
Rail Analysis India : Are you also participating in the RRTS projects of the Indian cities, if yes, please tell us more about the routes for which you are currently working ?
Mr. Bruno Vantu : We are indeed working for the Delhi – Meerut corridor for NCRTC, as detail design consultant. We are in charge of the definition of the parameters for the entire NCR RRTS corridors and we are also designing a 16 km viaduct section of the Meerut line. This assignment is challenging as no RRTS has been implemented so far in India, so we have to involve a lot our international expertise to build a framework that will guarantee both an efficient and safe system.
Rail Analysis India : Please share your views on future of metro rail projects in India ? How Indian companies can contribute more in the upcoming metro projects of the country ?
Mr. Bruno Vantu : There is no doubt that the trend in India will continue for urban areas to grow faster and bigger in the coming decades. Mobility in these booming cities will be key, and the urge will be to maintain the growth within the framework of a sustainable development. The metro projects will definitely help for the same, as long as they are conceived integrating the three major components of sustainability : reduce the environmental impact, remain economically viable and be a tool of social integration.
“ India has now its own benchmark with several metro projects under operation. It allowed many local companies to build capabilities and skills that will be used for the future projects. But the challenge will still remain to be more and more innovative to implement tailor-made transport systems which will comply to needs of the population for the years to come. “
Creativity should never be restrained and this is why Indian companies will have a key role not only by applying the skillset they already have, but also by pursuing their will to learn what are the best solutions implemented over the world and how to adapt to the local context. As an international company with strong local set-up, this is what we want to offer in the near future for urban transport projects in India.
