NSW Government has signed two construction contracts valuated at AUD 600 million (USD 392.5 million) for the modernisation of Sydney railway network.
The projects will be delivered as two separate packages of work, each worth around AUD 300 million (USD 196 million).
The Next Rail partnership comprising of John Holland & Jacobs will be responsible for all projects from Central to Hurstville, while the Transport for Tomorrow consortium of Laing O’Rourke & KBR will deliver all projects between Mortdale and Kiama.
The construction for the rail upgrades will begin in the middle of this year and are expected to be completed in advance of the service improvements, which are planned for late 2022.
Under the contracts, rail modernisation works will be performed including stabling yards, signalling, track, station platforms and power supply at key locations between Sydney Central, the T8 Airport Line tunnel and the South Coast.
The project will support the introduction of a new suburban and intercity train fleet and allows an increased train service frequency, more comfortable journeys and less waiting times for the passengers travelling on the T4 Illawarra, T8 Airport and South Coast lines.
The works on T4 Illawarra Line will allow a 20% extra capacity, bringing 3,600 additional passengers. The modernisation of the T8 Airport Line will result in more services including a 60% increase at four stations and an additiona capacity for 2,400 passengers. South Coast Line upgrades will allow trains to operate with 10 cars instead of 8, proving a new level of comfort, convenience and reliability for passengers. It will also allow an extra off peak service each hour between Wollongong and the Sydney CBD meaning a train every 30 minutes on average.
“We’re prioritising these lines because they are among the busiest on the network, catering for 440,000 trips in a typical day, which is around one third of daily rail customers,” Transport Minister Andrew Constance said.
The modernisation of Sydney railway network is part of the AUD 4.3 billion (USD 2.8 billion) More Trains, More Services programme which will deliver passengers further improvements in 2024, including on the T4, T8 and South Coast Lines. This project will effectively integrate Sydney Metro City and Southwest.
Share on:
