US infrastructure giant Aecom will join two big Australian contractors in a consortium to build the mouth of Melbourne’s A$11bn Metro Tunnel scheme, the state government of Victoria announced today.
State transport minister Jacinta Allan named the trio of Aecom, John Holland, and CPB Contractors as preferred bidder for the A$1bn Rail Infrastructure Alliance (RIA) works package.
They will build the twin tunnel entrances of the Metro Tunnel, which will see dozens of trains pass through each hour as part of Victoria’s biggest ever public transport project.
The RIA package is the last major contract of the Metro Tunnel scheme, which will carry thousands of passengers pass on twin 9km tracks under Melbourne, freeing up overground network capacity.
"The Metro Tunnel will deliver more trains, more often to the outer suburbs and slash travel times to some of Melbourne’s key health, education, jobs and tourism hubs," the minister said.
The project is intended to ease overcrowding on Melbourne’s train network by giving its three busiest lines a new underground path through the city.
The additional capacity will create room for an additional 504,000 peak passengers each week across the network, the government says.
Around 1,000 people will work on the RIA package. Site preparations ahead of portal construction will commence later this year, with most RIA works expected to be finished in line with the completion of the tunnels and stations, by the end of 2025.
Image: Render depicting Melbourne’s planned Metro Tunnel (Government of Victoria)
