Big news in WA this week, as the $1.86bn METRONET Airport Line opens for passengers travelling between Perth Airport and the CBD.
RA members Webuild and GHD were involved in the design and delivery of the project, which established a new 8.5km rail line with three new stations and provides airport passengers with a direct rail connection to Perth’s CBD, with journey times of 20 minutes or less.
20,000 daily trips are expected along the new line in its first year, with trains stopping at all stations between High Wycombe in the east and Claremont in the west.
Webuild’s involvement in the project entailed the construction of two parallel rail tunnels, three stations at Redcliffe, Airport Central (Perth Airport) and High Wycombe, 12 cross passages, and other related infrastructure.
The excavation of the tunnels was undertaken by two tunnel-boring machines (TBMs), and was very challenging due to the varying geology and because it was done under operating railway lines and beneath the airport’s operating runways before reaching the deepest point of the line at 26 metres under the Swan River.