Sydney Metro Northwest Project

The $8.3 billion Sydney Metro Northwest is Stage 1 of Sydney Metro, Australia’s biggest public transport project.

The Northwest Rapid Transit (NRT) consortium is delivering the Operations, Trains and Systems (OTS) contract. This includes the delivery of a stabling facility for 22 new metro trains, eight new railway stations, 23km of new track and 9km within the stabling yard, 4,000 commuter car parking spaces and upgrading the 13km railway between Epping and Chatswood Rail Line to metro standards.

The largest obstacle on this project was physically getting the materials into the tunnels as access was limited and areas constricted. Sections of the track were built 3.5km from the nearest access, these conditions meant that construction of the 2.2km took six months.

The underground crossover works at Castle Hill station commenced at the end of October 2017 and concluded in February 2018. This was the highlight of the project for the crew involved as it represented the final piece of the puzzle and a major landmark on the project, pictured above.

All works were delivered on time and on budget adhering to NRT guidelines.

Rhomberg Rail Australia (RRA) delivered 25.1km of slab track on this project of which 1.9km was floating track slab. Rhomberg was responsible for placing, lifting and adjusting track to correct alignment using the RhoPPS and RhoFAS systems. These systems are designed and built by Rhomberg to deliver a more efficient and safe track construction process. Track was surveyed by Rhomberg surveyors using the Hergie track recording trolley, another internally designed piece of equipment.

During the period of construction from March to November 2017, Rhomberg had more than 40 people working in the 15 kilometre twin tunnels in four different locations. There were two different types of track used in the tunnel. RRA worked collaboratively with NRT as well as a number of smaller contractors.

The team were assisted by the international Rhomberg experts based in Austria. Both surveyors and technical support were on hand during construction and offering technical support. Collaboration is an integral part of Rhomberg Sersa Rail group’s success.