Stories

The first stage of Australia’s largest public transportation project, Sydney Metro Northwest, was recently opened to the public. KBR, in a joint venture (JV) with Mott MacDonald and SMEC, worked on behalf of John Holland-Leighton Holdings Ltd. JV to deliver the AU$8.3 billion ($5.74 billion USD) project which includes more than 36 kilometers (22 miles) of new metro rail for Sydney’s growing northwest line. The project will improve travel time and increase reliability using a new generation of fully-automated trains.

The JV delivered the design for eight new train stations from Epping, NSW, to Tallawong, NSW, which includes three underground stations, three new open-cut suburban stations and two new elevated stations. In addition, five more train stations were upgraded and 4,000 parking spots were added as well. Lastly, the team was also responsible for train stabling maintenance facilities and the track and overhead power systems for the entire rail line.

Reducing overall cost and the use of raw materials was a top priority of the Sydney Metro Northwest team. Throughout the design of this major transportation infrastructure project, the KBR-Mott MacDonald-SMEC JV utilized Building Information Modeling (BIM), a 3D modeling, simulation and design process for infrastructure projects that provides designers with a detailed visualization of their projects. Employing this process minimized overall cost and individual risk while enhancing project constructability.

The innovative project design also reduced the use of raw construction materials while still enabling the architectural design of the stations to be within budget. Reducing the use of raw construction materials and labor on site increased the efficiency and sustainability of the project in construction and in future maintenance operations.

“We are proud to have worked on this project for our customers and with our design joint venture partners,” said Wayne Nolan, KBR Vice President, Infrastructure Services Australia. “KBR is committed to delivering creative solutions and services to enhance our society and we believe Sydney Metro Northwest is a great example of us living our purpose and delivering for our customers.” He added, “We look forward to continuing to provide solutions for transportation infrastructure across Australia.”