Craigieburn Rail Project, Australia

The Craigieburn electric railway line serves the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.

Construction of the Craigieburn line started in 1860 and was completed in 1872. It was initially called Broadmeadows railway line. Later, after electrification the line was given the current name. 

The Craigieburn Rail project started in May 2005 and was completed in September 2007. The project involved electrification of a 10km rail network from Broadmeadows to Craigieburn. The project was delivered under an alliance agreement between the Department of Infrastructure and Connex.

Project

Rapid growth of the urban area around Melbourne has necessitated better public transport, resulting in a rail project. The total cost of this project was estimated to be $115m.

The project, which started in 2005, included the upgrade of Craigieburn station, a new station at Roxburgh Park and an overhead electrical power system.

The new station features a zone through which to access the metropolitan network and taxi facilities. New train stabling facilities were constructed and a new signalling system was installed at Craigieburn.

The signalling at Somerton was upgraded and Broadmeadows platform 1 was extended as part of the project.

Signalling was carried out in four stages. Stage one, commissioned in February in 2007, included the removal of Siding B at Broadmeadows up to dwarf signal BMS502 and relocation of down home signal BMS513. The Westrace Interlocking was modified and the Networked Westrace was upgraded.

Stage two included commission of pedestrian gates at Craigieburn. Stage three saw the commissioning of BG signalling between Broadmeadows and Craigieburn. In stage four installing of SG signalling was carried out between Broadmeadows and Donnybrook. The project replaced the manual signalling system with a computerised one.

A new siding was built at Craigieburn to allow trains to terminate. In May 2007, five additional sidings were built at Craigieburn. A level crossing at Somerton Road was replaced with a bridge.

The completion of the station at Roxburgh Park paved the way for construction of a new station at Coolaroo, which was opened June 2010.

The line features double track throughout and is controlled by automatic block signalling.

The link provides improved rail services to the north of Melbourne. There has consequently been improvement in the integration of train and bus services.

The project contributes to the economic growth of the area by attracting people for business. Many jobs were created in the design, planning and construction stages of the project.

Contractors

In November 2005, Thiess was awarded a $58m contract to carry out track and civil works. Thiess was assisted by AA Radio Services.

In the same year Australia-based Westinghouse Rail Systems received a $9m contract to install the railway signalling. BestFab was awarded a sub-contract for supply, fabrication and galvanisation of the overhead structures.

The fabrication work required 380t of steel. Approximately 220 overhead structures were erected along the corridor. Each structure is 9m long, featuring a double track cantilever design.