Stories

KBR, as part of the MetCONNX Alliance, has secured the METRONET Byford Rail Extension Project in Perth, Australia, to help the Western Australian Government deliver stronger rail connections in the city’s southeast.

The $625 million project is part of the Western Australian Government’s METRONET program, the largest investment in Perth’s public transport system, designed to transform the city with more transport, housing and employment choices.

The MetCONNX Alliance, comprising the Public Transport Authority (PTA), Laing O’Rourke, Pritchard Francis and KBR, will design and construct a new 8km electrified passenger rail service between Byford and Armadale. The project will remove eight level crossings to improve local connectivity and deliver a new station at Byford with around 400 parking bays and a new bus interchange. Three busy level crossings in the Armadale City Centre will be removed and replaced with elevated rail, and the current Armadale Station will be rebuilt as an elevated station, improving road congestion and safety for the local community. A new continuous shared path will be built along the rail alignment.

Located 33km southeast of Perth, the project will enable residents from the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale to travel seamlessly from Byford to Perth in around 42 minutes, driving greater prosperity for the region through economic growth and greater access to jobs.

Together in a team of experienced and specialised local consultants, the MetCONNX Alliance will draw on its long-term partnerships and collective transport experience in Western Australia to deliver complex design solutions within a collaborative partnership with the PTA. The team will collaborate to co-design the road engineering, rail track and new stations including the elevated structures, with KBR focusing on the rail and road civil design and Prichard Francis delivering the design of the stations.

KBR will apply our proven digital delivery framework successfully adopted on major rail projects across Australia, including the Level Crossing Removal Program in Melbourne and More Trains More Services Program in Sydney. This framework combines our people’s forward-thinking expertise with the latest BIM, modelling and virtual reality technologies to create an interactive virtual environment that gives project stakeholders a powerful, immersive experience to test operationalisation and identify improvements prior to commencing construction.

“We’re excited to bring our strong transport solutions to the MetCONNX Alliance to deliver this transformational project and help the Western Australian Government execute its vision for a more connected, prosperous Perth,” said Ray Mahony, Director, Consulting Services, Infrastructure Services Australia.

The Byford Rail Extension is the third METRONET project KBR is involved in, adding onto the Morley to Ellenbrook Line and Claremont Station Project, where we are providing Independent Design Verification services. This win reflects KBR’s strong reputation in the design and delivery of city shaping rail projects in Australia, contributing to our portfolio of rail infrastructure projects across the nation