Amsterdam Metro North-South Line

This program was a complex €3.1b extension to the Amsterdam metro of 10km (7km of tunnels), eight new stations (five of which are sub-surface) and implementation of modern railway systems technology to enable operations up to 16 trains per hour, providing the capacity to increase network ridership by 120,000 ppd (passengers per day).

At the start of WSP’s engagement as an advisor, there was low confidence among the stakeholders, especially the operator, in the ability to meet overall program goals on time. In this complex environment, where there were political as well as technical difficulties, an SI approach was selected as the method to help get the program back on track both internally and with stakeholders.  Examples of the integration issues that were prevalent in this program were the lack of overall performance requirements, poor design coordination, contracts that were not aligned for integrated output, an SI team that did not have the organizational positioning to influence, and a governance approach that did not involve key stakeholders in problem solving. 

Starting in 2015 and working through to the entry into service in 2018, WSP acted as the client’s SI advisor—working directly with the key decision makers, regularly taking a health check of the program and providing clear and targeted recommendations to enable the program leadership team to develop their own organizational capability for delivering results in an integrated way.  

WSP used its SI:D3 framework to review the program maturity and helped guide the program leadership team to a successful outcome.