Cork-based engineering group Bowen Construction has won two rail-related contracts worth €125 million.

The group, which employs 1,000 people, said yesterday that the contracts covered the extension of Dublin's Luas system and the development of care and maintenance facilities for Iarnród Éireann's new fleet of trains.

Bowen Construction, which is part of the larger Bowen Group, is involved in a variety of areas ranging from the construction of gas pipelines to the fit-out of Dublin airport's shopping mall.

As part of its latest business win, the company will be involved in the €85 million Luas extension project, which will see Dublin's tram system extended from Sandyford to Cherrywood.

The extension will amount to an additional 7.5km (4.7 miles) of track and will include the development of 12 new stops. Construction is due to start in February 2008 and is expected to take 32 months to complete.

The second contract is for the design, construction, testing and commissioning of a new €40 million traincare depot at Portlaoise. It will also be responsible for training representatives in the use of systems and services at the site, which will be a dedicated servicing facility for the new rail cars provided under the 2000-2006 National Development Plan.

Bowen Construction, which was founded in Cork in 1968, recorded pretax profits of €4.4 million in the year to the end of March 2006, a 20 per cent increase on the previous year. Turnover was up 14 per cent, at €213.6 million.