The Newcastle to Sydney High Speed Rail project has taken another step towards realisation as it moves into the development stage with a set of three major construction consortia shortlisted for an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) process following a competitive tender.
The Acciona John Holland Joint Venture, Advanced Alliance Joint Venture (Gamuda Engineering, FCC Construction Australia, Samsung C&T Corporation), and the GoFar Joint Venture (CPB Contractors, Ferrovial Construction (Australia), VINCI Construction Grands Projects Australia) will now vie to develop plans for Area Package 1, which forms the section of the route between Berowra and Ourimbah.
This approach is intended to result in the best outcome on both construction costs and programme timeframes, and will involve the delivery of roughly 35km of twin tunnels between Berowra and Ourimbah (which will be delivered using tunnel boring machines), the Central Coast High Speed Rail station at Gosford, and the installation of all rail and station systems, as well as other structural and surface infrastructure works, across the Berowra to Ourimbah section of the corridor.
All three consortia are part of the High Speed Rail Authority’s ECI process, which is now working to finalise the cost, scope, design and approvals for High Speed Rail in order to ready it for construction, as well as allow for the Australian Government to make an investment decision at the end of the Development Phase.
Once operational, the new high speed trains will enable passengers to travel between Newcastle and Sydney in roughly one hour, with trip times of around 30 minutes from the Central Coast to either Newcastle or Sydney.
The consortia will adopt advanced manufacturing into delivering High Speed Rail, with an Advanced Manufacturing Facility set to use automation, robotics and precision manufacturing to deliver the railway more efficiently. This facility will also create skilled jobs, as well as more opportunities for Australian manufacturers and suppliers in order to deliver the final High Speed Rail project.
It has been declared that no major construction contract will be awarded before a government decision-making process has been completed, after which time one of these three groups would then be selected by the Australian Government’s High Speed Rail Authority to deliver the tunnelling work and associated construction work in Area Package 1.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King, said:We said we’d go metre by metre, and carefully plan the first stage of High Speed Rail between Newcastle and Sydney. That’s what we’re delivering with these new contracts.
The three consortia will determine the best and most innovative ways to drive tunnels between Berowra and Ourimbah, while ensuring Australians get value for money.
We know the roads between Newcastle and Sydney are congested, and the existing rail line is reaching capacity. We must invest in new ways to travel between New South Wales’ largest cities. That’s why this careful planning work is getting underway.
I look forward to seeing what these three consortia come up with.
