OREANDA-NEWS. DB International and its business partners have been awarded the tender for the first metro line in Australia's capital of Canberra. Deutsche Bahn's international engineering and consulting subsidiary will contribute its professional experience in the fields of operations and maintenance consulting services. Construction is slated to start in the coming months, and the metro, which will comprise 13 overground stations, is planned to go operational in 2019. Extending 12 km in length, the Canberra metro will connect the fast-growing suburb of Gungahlin with the center of the capital.

Niko Warbanoff, Chairman of the Board of Management at DB International, says, "We are extremely happy to expand our activities Down Under. As part of a consortium, we can make a sustained contribution in terms of expertise and ensure that the new Canberra metro operates smoothly."

The government of the Australian Capital Territory is in charge of the city's urban rail project, which is intended to increase quality of life in Canberra by improving its mass transit offering.

DB International's consortium partners include several international firms from the construction and finance sectors. Concerning the operation and maintenance of the new urban rail line, the company is working in tandem with John Holland, one of Australia's leading construction firms, and Spanish tram manufacturer CAF.

DB International won its first contract in Australia in August 2014. The engineering and consulting specialist was tasked with delivering project management services for equipment technology, vehicles, approval/initialization, and operation for the major mass transit infrastructure project Sydney Metro Northwest (previously North West Rail Link). DB International opened its own Sydney office at the end of 2015. Sydney Metro Northwest is Australia's first fully automatic metro system and is scheduled to start running in the first six months of 2019.