PR90113

DALLAS, June 16, 2021 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

Texas Central, developers of the high-speed train between Dallas and Houston,

has signed a $16 billion contract with Webuild, operating in the U.S. market

with The Lane Construction Corporation, a global leader in engineering and

construction to lead the civil construction team that will build the Texas

passenger line.

Webuild is one of the largest civil engineering contractors in the world. This

selection by Texas Central reflects the participation of industry leading

organizations that are designing and building the high-speed train.

"Our goal is to put together a team of the best players in the world from each

industry needed to bring this project to life. The addition of Webuild helps us

accomplish that goal," said Carlos Aguilar, CEO of Texas Central. "Webuild has

115 years of experience designing and building some of the worlds' best-known

projects and we are proud to have them as a leader on this historic project."

Webuild is active in more than 50 countries on five continents, with experience

building 8,500 miles of railway and metro infrastructure around the world – in

Australia, Europe, Asia and the Americas. It has built many high-speed train

projects in Europe, and some iconic, complex projects in the wider transport

sector, including the expansion of the Panama Canal, the Grand Paris Express

and the Anacostia River and Northeast Boundary tunnels in Washington, D.C.

The company has worked in the U.S. since the 1980s and expanded its presence in

2016, merging with The Lane Construction Corporation, a U.S.-based company with

almost 130 years of experience in infrastructure work.

"We are truly honored to have been chosen by Texas Central, that relies on our

worldwide expertise to bring sustainable mobility to the country with the first

true 'end-to-end' high-speed railway," said Pietro Salini, CEO of the Webuild

Group. "Being part of such a challenging project as leader of the design and

construction of the railway is a unique experience that we are extremely proud

of. This is a wonderful opportunity to further focus our presence in the US,

our biggest single market, together with Lane, the company building first class

transport infrastructure for the country for the past 130 years."

The announcement is the latest milestone for the investor-led project – a 200

mph train connecting the state's largest population and economic regions in 90

minutes, with a midway stop in the Brazos Valley. The project will create a

super-economy, connecting people in the 4th and 5th largest U.S. markets

looking for safe, reliable, green and productive travel options.

According to the contract, Webuild will execute all the heavy construction for

the project, designing and building all 236 miles of the alignment, nearly half

of it on viaduct. Much of the alignment is elevated to reduce impacts as much

as possible on landowners and residents of the counties it will traverse.

Webuild will also build all maintenance and industrial buildings, train depots

and facilities.

The system Texas Central Railroad proposes to build in Texas will replicate the

proven Japanese Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed rail system, as operated by the

Central Japan Railway Company (JRC). Texas Central chose this system because it

is one of the safest and most punctual train systems in the world. In its 55+

year history, it has transported over 10 billion passengers with an impeccable

safety record of zero operational passenger fatalities and zero accidents since

first deployed. This technology reliably moves more than 400,000 passengers

every day.

The project will create an estimated 17,000 direct jobs during the six years of

construction, over 20,000 supply chain jobs and more than 1,400 direct

permanent jobs when the train is fully operational. The Texas Central project

will use $7.3 billion of materials from US companies across 37 states. And,

over the next 25 years, this project will have a direct cumulative economic

impact of $36 billion.

Texas Central has a comprehensive Business and Workforce Opportunity Program

with a mission to promote the value and development of small, rural, and

minority-, woman-, veteran- and disabled individual-owned businesses by

offering fair and competitive opportunities to bid and participate in building

and operating the Texas high-speed train.

About Texas Central. Texas Central, which includes its operating subsidiary

Texas Central Railroad, is the company undertaking the development, design,

construction, finance, and operation of the innovative new high-speed passenger

train line that will connect the fourth and fifth largest economies in the

country, North Texas and Greater Houston, in less than 90 minutes, with one

stop in the Brazos Valley. For more information, visit www.texascentral.com.

About Webuild. Webuild, the new group born in 2020 from Salini Impregilo, is a

leading global player in the construction of large, complex projects for

sustainable mobility, clean hydro energy, clean water, green buildings,

supporting clients in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). The Group

is the expression of 115 years of engineering experience applied in 50

countries on five continents with 70,000 direct and indirect employees from

more than 100 nationalities. For more information, visit www.webuildgroup.com

SOURCE  Texas Central High Speed Rail

CONTACT: Kristin Welsh, 1-214-8717723, kristin@allynmedia.com