The transformational METRONET Forrestfield-Airport Link project has reached another major milestone, with tracklaying in the eight-kilometer tunnels now underway.
The first kilometer of track for the $1.86 billion METRONET project has been laid near Redcliffe Station, following the final breakthrough near Bayswater and completion of tunneling in April.
Australian company Martinus Rail – under contract to Salini Impregilo-NRW Joint Venture – will use more than 2,400 tonnes of Australian-manufactured steel in the tracklaying process, with around 40 kilometers of rail needed to form the track in each tunnel, tie-ins at Bayswater and stowage at High Wycombe.
Multiple teams work simultaneously to weld lengths of rail, transport, and precisely lay the rail and sleepers to form the skeleton track in the tunnels, then pour the concrete that finishes the slab track.
Work is also underway to prepare for the installation of the overhead line equipment and the complex systems for communications and signaling. The tracklaying and rail infrastructure processes will support more than 100 jobs.
The Forrestfield-Airport Link will be named the Airport Line when it becomes operational and will provide a 20 minutes’ rail link between the Perth central business district and the eastern suburbs, with new stations at Redcliffe, Airport Central and High Wycombe.
Trains are scheduled to start running on the Airport Line in late 2021.
Source: Government of Western Australia
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