The last piece of track has been laid on the METRONET Forrestfield-Airport Link, a major milestone towards completion of the project, which is funded jointly by the State and Federal governments.

More than 27,000 sleepers and 2,400 tonnes of Australian-made steel were used to install more than 16 kilometres of track from Bayswater Junction to High Wycombe Station.

Installation of the overhead conductor rail (OCR) and overhead line equipment (OLE) is also ongoing. This will carry the 25 kilovolts needed to power the trains.

The installation of OCR infrastructure is underway within the two tunnels, and all surface OLE structures are now in place at Bayswater Junction and are well advanced at High Wycombe.

The 1,200-bay, three-level car park at High Wycombe, which is design to improve station access for passengers and free up eight hectares of land for future development has also completed construction.

The station itself is also nearing completion, with finishing touches underway including landscaping, installation of seating, bike racks and signage, plus roadworks within the station precinct.

Other projects include public art installations which includes a 70-tonne tunnel-boring machine cutterhead, a 40 metre mural by Perth artist Fieldey and a series of sculptural artworks and storyboards by Noongar artist Maitland Hill.

All three new stations – High Wycombe, Airport Central and Redcliffe – are in the final fit-out stage, and will open when the line becomes operational in the first half of 2022.

Source: Link

Date of Publication: 16 July 2021