The first tracks have been laid at Luddenham for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport line as the 23-kilometre new metro railway takes shape.
The first portion of track was installed at Luddenham, just north of a new rail bridge that will take metro services over the future M12 motorway.
Track laying is currently progressing north towards St Marys.
A team of up to 60 workers construct anywhere from 70 to 100 metres of track per day.
More than 6400 tonnes of Australian-made rail steel will be laid along the 23-kilometre line between St Marys and Bradfield between now and mid-2026.
In total, 106.8 kilometres of rail line and 76,285 sleepers will be installed, including at the stabling and maintenance facility at Orchard Hills.
Each 20-metre piece of rail steel is manufactured in South Australia. It is then shipped to Newcastle, before being trucked to a newly constructed rail laydown yard in Luddenham South.
At the yard, the steel is welded together into 120-metre-long “rail strings” and then transported to a location along the alignment for installation. A rail threader machine lifts the rail strings on top of the sleepers and the two are fastened together.
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The track is then lifted into its final position using an advanced adjustment system. A final concrete pour secures the track in place.
The track alignment program also consists of the delivery of associated assets and services, including mechanical, electrical, communications and plumbing works, which will be completed simultaneously to the track.
Work to build the six stations for the new line is in full swing, while plans detailing the design for each station are now finalised.
Sydney Metro is a jointly funded public transport project by the Federal and New South Wales governments.
The scope of the project being building, operating and maintaining a network of four metro lines, 46 stations and 113 kilometres of new metro rail, targeting to open in 2032.
The project will connect Sydney’s northwest, west, southwest and greater west with new metro services with fully accessible stations.
The metro program includes the operational M1 Line and three projects under construction; the Southwest, west and Western Sydney Airport projects.
Once completed, Sydney’s new metro railway will have a target capacity of about 40,000 customers per hour, compared to Sydney’s current suburban system which can reliably carry 24,000 people an hour per line.
For more information, visit: www.sydneymetro.info/
