Inauguration of the Diabolo rail link

11 July 2012 - Events - Belgium

On 7 June 2012, King Albert II of Belgium formally opened the Diabolo rail link, built by the Dialink consortium comprising, amongst others, MBG (CFE, VINCI Construction) and VINCI Construction Grands Projets, which drilled two 1,070 m-long tunnels beneath the take-off runway at Brussels-National Airport. Undertaken within the framework of a PPP on behalf of Infrabel, which manages Belgium's railway infrastructure, the Diabolo link was handed over after five years of works. It will improve access to and from the airport, at Zaventem, connecting it to the major lines of the Belgian rail network and notably to Antwerp. Several other Group companies participated in the Diabolo project: Aannemingen Van Wellen for the road works and Louis Stevens & Co for the railway signalling works (both CFE subsidiaries), as well as Bachy Belgique, Fontec and Freyssinet Belgium (all three Soletanche Freyssinet subsidiaries, VINCI Construction), the first two for the diaphragm walls and the third for the creation of a prestressed-concrete covering slab. The new infrastructure was brought into service on 10 June 2012. Total value of the investment: 678 million euros, of which 280 million euros for the civil engineering.