What type of engineering is essential in rail development?

Railway projects rely on a combination of engineering disciplines to succeed. Key areas include civil, structural, and ground engineering for rail construction, electrical and mechanical engineering for systems and rolling stock, and transport planning to support an efficient and integrated rail plan.

What is Ramboll’s approach to integrating innovative solutions into traditional rail systems?

Ramboll combines deep domain knowledge with cutting-edge digital tools and innovative engineering methods to help rail operators future-proof their networks while enhancing efficiency, passenger experience, and sustainability outcomes. This includes leveraging AI tools such as project-specific GPTs and machine learning models for rapid structural optimisation, enhancing design accuracy, and accelerating decision-making in complex rail projects. Ramboll also has specialist capabilities in areas such as advanced modelling, integration services and ERTMS rail signalling that help ensure reliable rail operations while meeting current and future demands.

Rail

Name: Rail Engineering Services, Design & Planning
Brand: Ramboll

Rail operators and authorities face demands for reliable, sustainable, and digital railway systems. We help our clients by delivering efficient, resilient, and future-ready rail consulting solutions worldwide, from concept to operation.

Gothenburg, Sweden - August 6, 2019: Train ready to depart, isolated, compressed background

Engineering railway that moves society forward

With more than 1300 dedicated rail engineers and consultants, Ramboll delivers comprehensive railway services across the entire lifecycle, from strategic planning and feasibility studies to detailed rail design, construction support, and long-term asset management.

Our teams bring expertise across heavy rail, metro, and light rail systems, with specialist capabilities in signalling, electrification, asset management, and strategic advisory. We help clients improve connectivity, resilience, and environmental mitigation efforts to meet the evolving demands of passengers, network operators, and society.

Multidisciplinary consultancy

Ramboll delivers major complex projects requiring specialist railway expertise combined with general capability in civil engineering, structural engineering, environmental services, IT and project management.

Rail engineering in numbers

: 1300
Ramboll experts working within the global rail sector

: 100%
Ramboll has worked on all existing Nordic light rail systems in the last decade
: 1st
Ramboll is delivering the world’s first nationwide ERTMS rail signalling rollout in Denmark

Our railway consulting services

:
Heavy rail
We expand, manage and modernise rail lines across the world. Working in challenging environments, we use our cross-cutting expertise in bridges and tunnels and environmental assessments to ensure safe and fast rail lines that are also operational and simple to maintain and operate.
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Metro and Light Rail
Our expertise within rail engineering, traffic planning, and urbanisation covers all disciplines of metro and light rail projects. We take a holistic approach and provide multidisciplinary consultancy services, from regional and comprehensive planning to detailed design of railway infrastructure.
More on Light rail solutions
:
European Rail Traffic Management System
In Europe, a common signalling system known as ERTMS is being introduced to enable seamless rail travel across borders. Ramboll has extensive experience with ERTMS, ETCS, and GSM-R radio – including designing the world’s first nationwide ERTMS system.
More on digital railways

Lifecycle management services for rail engineering: planning, design, implementation, operation, maintenance & components

Every journey starts with a conversation

Every railway system and project has its unique set of challenges and solutions. Our team is here to help across the entire rail lifecycle with expertise in heavy rail, metro, and light rails system.

EXPLORE RAILWAY SOLUTIONS AND PROJECTS

Our rail specialists work with clients to solve industry challenges and deliver projects around the world. For inspiration, explore our collection of railway cases below

Denmark’s Digital Rail Signalling Roll-out
Denmark’s ERTMS rollout is the world’s largest digital rail signalling upgrade, improving safety and reliability nationwide.
Electrifying Marschbahn for a Greener Future
Electrifying Germany’s 170 km Marschbahn line enhances sustainability, reliability, and climate resilience.
Next-gen high speed rail in Sweden
Ramboll helped Sweden develop its next generation high-speed rail network, including a connection between Gothenburg-Borås.The aim was to deliver better journey times and accessibility, while minimising the impact on the environment or nearby inhabitants.

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Light Rail Line 15: Future Mobility in Helsinki
Finland’s Light Rail Line 15 connects Helsinki and Espoo, expanding capacity and reducing emissions to build a smarter regional future.
Fehmarnbelt: World’s longest immersed tunnel
18 km long and 40m underwater. Fehmarnbelt, the world's longest immersed tunnel, showcases innovative thinking and challenges engineering standards. Ramboll is advisor to the client, Femern A/S, within the Ramboll-Arup-TEC Joint Venture partnership.
Metro M5: Designing the next generation of urban mobility in Copenhagen
As cities expand and sustainability challenges intensify, the future of urban mobility depends on scalable, low-carbon infrastructure. In Copenhagen, the new M5 metro line marks a major step in transforming how the city moves - and how it grows.

"With Ramboll as part of the engineering consortium, we have bundled experience and expertise in rail planning to implement the project successfully and within the specified time frame."

Jutta Heine-Seela

Project Manager, DB InfraGO

STAY AHEAD IN RAIL WITH THE LATEST TRENDS

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How to approach rail market liberalisation

Rail is at the centre of Europe’s mobility ambitions — and its regulatory dilemmas. As passenger demand grows and climate targets tighten, governments are being asked to reform how rail is structured, funded, and operated. But beneath the surface of EU directives lies a much more complex and human reality: no two markets are alike, and liberalisation is not a copy-paste exercise.

The alliance advantage: Why infrastructure needs a new delivery model

In early 2017, commuters in Helsinki were promised a new light rail line connecting the eastern and western suburbs. Large-scale transport projects are rarely delivered on time or ahead of schedule. Yet Light Rail Line 15 not only opened 10 months early but also close to 10% below budget. The secret? A procurement model that is turning traditional contracting on its head: the Alliance Model.

Stockholm Central: A tale of urban transformation

Railways move millions, but railyards can be barrier between people and places. An urban redevelopment project in and around the historic Stockholm Central Station aims to solve the dilemma. Here are the highlights.

Reducing embedded emissions in infrastructure

A new report, “Towards Low-Carbon Transport Infrastructure in the Nordics”, funded by the European Climate Foundation, reveals that while the Nordic region is a leader in sustainability, the emissions embedded in transport infrastructure remain largely overlooked and recommends a series of actions to address them.