In March 2000, the Norwegian government determined it wanted a light rail system to be the spine of the city of Bergens public transport system. Aiming to supply a transport solution that should serve both residents and visitors, the award-winning phase one of Bybanen, a 20-kilometer line from the town core to the Bergen airport at Flesland, was opened in 2010. Fast ahead to 2019 and the city is planning a new 9-kilometer extension of the system at a value of NOK 6.2 billion, in addition cementing it as one of the key elements of this developing city and gateway to the Fjords of Norway.

In collaboration with its customer Bybanen Utbygging and sister company Sweco Norway, Sweco Nederland B.V. is engaged in the plan of the new light rail line with eight new stops, which includes a stopping place and a depot both located underground at Bergen. Connecting and partly the usage of the citys present tram line, Swecos work consists of all adjoining infrastructure (roads, bicycle lanes, and pedestrian zones), aiding bridge structures, and surrounding public areas along with parks, as well as relocating and adjusting present infrastructure. The work will additionally require two new tunnels, totaling about 5 kilometers in length.

To drive effectivity inside the multidiscipline workflows required for this complicated project, Sweco leveraged data in its connected data environment (CDE) based on ProjectWise, via the use of Bentleys open applications which includes OpenRail Designer and OpenBuildings Designer. This approach ensured correct data was constantly available to team members from the 18 disciplines throughout five countries working collectively on the project. A dedication to create designs in 3D enabled the project team to discover potential issues previously in the process, decreasing construction blunders on site by 25%.

Sweco Nederland realized additional productivity profits using OpenBuildings Designer, leveraging track alignments from OpenRail Designer to place line broad equipment, such as sleepers, drainage boxes, ducting, and trackside equipment. Using OpenBuildings Designers GenerativeComponents, the crew developed scripts to automate layout iterations, saving about 500 aid hours and enabling automated reprocessing of all associated objects when the customer required alignment changes.

Sweco Nederland identified that the clients necessities and scale of the project required new digital methods to improve BIM. Facing challenges around data integration, alignment, management of change, collaboration, and communication, it noticed that digital twins with the capacity to track and manage exchange provided an creative solution for digital delivery. As an early adopter of Bentleys iTwin Services, Sweco Nederland was able to recognise measurable advantages in layout review workflows through visualizing design modifications and leveraging insights to make informed decisions, and, following a successful pilot, is rolling out the technology on new projects.

Bentleys solution has enabled Sweco to engineer the extension of Bergens Light Rail system right first time, and as an outcome make considerable time and cost savings on this complicated project, stated Christiaan Post, consultant 3D specialist/BIM with Sweco Nederland B.V. In short, Bentley software made our work less difficult and more effective, enabling the crew to optimize the plan and entire work within a tight schedule.