• Trafikverket’s major railway project was highly commended in the Large Projects category of the FIDIC Global Infrastructure Awards.
• The judging panel recognised technical excellence, sustainability, and international collaboration.

10 October 2025 – AECOM, the trusted global infrastructure leader, has been recognised in the Large Project category at the prestigious FIDIC Global Infrastructure Awards for its work on the design and development of the North Bothnia Line in Sweden. The judging panel at the FIDIC Awards, which celebrate the world’s most outstanding engineering projects for their positive impact on society, the economy, and the environment, highly commended the major railway project, for its innovation, sustainability, and international cooperation.

The North Bothnia Line is a new 270-kilometre railway infrastructure connecting the cities of Umeå and Luleå along Sweden’s northern coast, significantly improving the capacity, safety, and performance of rail transport in the region. The section developed by AECOM spans 30 kilometres of railway, 45 kilometres of associated roads, and 21 bridges, facilitating passenger and freight mobility in northern Sweden.

The project has been a pioneer in the comprehensive application of advanced BIM methodologies, enabling real-time coordination between multidisciplinary teams located in Sweden, Spain, Greece, South Africa, India, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. This international collaboration, combined with the use of digital platforms, ensured transparency, traceability, and efficiency across all design phases.

The structured use of metadata and attributes – such as quantities, material specifications, and carbon footprint indicators – allowed for optimised design, improved decision-making, and the achievement of high standards of quality and sustainability.

One of the project’s standout features was its proactive approach to sustainability. AECOM conducted periodic carbon footprint assessments using the Swedish Transport Administration’s (Trafikverket) ‘Klimatkalkyl’ tool, achieving a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to the reference design. The administration had set a goal to reduce the project’s carbon footprint by 30% during the design, construction, and operational phases. To achieve this, estimates were made for the 30-kilometre railway line, and regular workshops were held with all disciplines to identify opportunities, optimise the design, and explore the use of low-carbon materials or processes to be implemented during construction.

Additionally, the project utilised the ‘stone column’ technique to improve soil characteristics, stability, consolidation, and sustainability in its design and execution. This technique, novel in the Nordic country, will lead to adjustments to current geotechnical standards in Sweden.

Landscape integration, noise reduction, and respect for the cultural environment were also key elements to ensure that the new infrastructure benefits the surrounding environment and local communities.

Mark Miyaoka, Country Manager at AECOM in Sweden, stated: “The North Bothnia Line is a nationally-significant scheme that is set to bring better connectivity, economic growth and environmental benefits to communities along the Norrland coast. It’s great to see the scheme recognised at these prestigious global awards, which is a testament to the effort, dedication and technical excellence of the entire local and international team involved in its delivery. We’re proud that our commitment to innovation, sustainability and global collaboration – principles that are all part of AECOM’s DNA – have been recognised”.

 

 

About AECOM 

AECOM is the global infrastructure leader, committed to delivering a better world. As a trusted professional services firm powered by deep technical abilities, we solve our clients’ complex challenges in water, environment, energy, transportation and buildings. Our teams partner with public- and private-sector clients to create innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions throughout the project lifecycle – from advisory, planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm that had revenue of $16.1 billion in fiscal year 2024. Learn more at aecom.com.