Level Crossings brochure - February 2019

Blending the old with the new for future generations

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Back to the future: The Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project WRIT TEN BY

NIKI WA LDEGR AVE PRODUCED BY

GLEN WHITE

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The Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project has changed the face of Victorian suburbs.

Its project director, Brett Summers, tells Niki Waldegrave how blending the old with the new has made city living and commuting easier for future generations.

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T

he train line from Melbourne CBD to Cranbourne and Pakenham is Melbourne’s busiest rail corridor, crossed by some of

Australia’s most congested roads, where boom gates were down for up to 82 minutes during the morning peak.

With a number of fatalities recorded at level crossings on both that corridor and others, in 2015 the Victorian Government tasked the Victoriabased Level Crossings Removal Project with removing 50 dangerous level crossings by 2022 in addition to other infrastructure upgrades across section of Melbourne’s rail network.

One of its showpieces was the $1.6 billion Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project, an intensive logistical exercise led by project director Brett Summers.

One of Australian’s biggest construction plans, the Level Crossing Removal Project delivered the

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project with an alliance in conjunction

ment, the Level Crossing Removal

with the likes of Lendlease, CPB

Project has already seen 29 level

Contractors, WSP, Aurecon and Metro

crossings removed out of the original

Trains Melbourne.

50 and following the result of the

They removed nine level crossings between Caulfield and Dandenong in

crossings were prioritised for removal,”

Melbourne’s southeast by elevating the

says Summers.

Cranbourne/Pakenham line over the road in three distinct sections.

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recent election, an additional 25 level

The Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project saw the build

Due to the program’s success, the

of five new stations and 321 piers, each

government has expanded on the rem-

up to nine metres high. Its 40,000 ton-

oval of 50 crossings to now eradicating

nes of steel and 588 concrete beams

75 by 2022.

weighed more than 85,000 tonnes,

“A flagship program for the govern-

This was always seen as a relatively controversial project because we put the train line up in the air — Brett Summers Project Director, Caulfield to Dandenong at Level Crossing Removal Authority

and opened up 22.5 hectares of space

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘CAULFIELD TO DANDENONG: CONSTRUCTION AT MURRUMBEENA’ 07 – the open space is 11 times bigger than

metres in some areas such as between

the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)

Caulfield and Hughesdale. Many of the

thanks to building six kilometres of new

locations had residential properties that

elevated bridges.

backed right up against the corridor –

But the stakes were high. “It is the

of the 113 houses that were eligible

busiest rail corridor in Melbourne,”

for purchase by the government under

explains Summers, “so it has the most

a Voluntary Purchase Scheme, 74 have

amount of people moving backwards

settled to date, meaning the construction

and forwards, and we had to keep them

was very often right next to people’s

moving pretty much the whole time

homes and back fences. As a result, they

getting them from point A to B, while

pulled in the big guns by deploying a blue

we built this job in and around a live

straddle carrier, which allowed the 2000-

train environment.”

strong workforce to build above the exist-

The biggest challenge was that it’s a very tight rail corridor – less than 20

ing train line, while the trains continued to run underneath. w w w.l eve l c ro ssi ngs.vi c. g ov. a u

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C OMPA N Y FA C T S

• In 2015 the Victorian Government tasked the Victoria-based Level Crossings Removal Project with removing 50 dangerous level crossings by 2022 in addition to other infrastructure upgrades across sections of Melbourne’s rail network.

• One of its showpieces was the $1.6 billion Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Projects.

• The last of the major works were completed around about October 2018 and the 17-kilometre-long shared user path and the linear park is now open to the public.

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2015

Year founded

360+

Approximate number of employess

10

Instead of lifting beams in a tradition-

is used throughout Asia, usually to launch

al method using cranes, needing lots of

big road structures, and it’s something

open space to truck the beams in, they

the team saw and thought they would

were instead lifted and transported long-

adopt to the rail environment. The project

itudinally down the corridor for installation

also used a track-laying machine. An

between Caulfield and Hughesdale.

Australian first, these machines move

“It’s the first time that has been done

up and down the new elevated rail line

in Melbourne but it meant that we didn’t

to place pieces of track, using hydr-

need to use adjacent land,” he explains.

aulic technology built for efficiency

“It was, obviously a huge logistical and

and precision.

safety challenge – but safety is at the

While the main benefits of the track-

forefront of everything we do, and lots

laying machine are speed and safety, it

of planning went into it.”

also played a key part in installing noise-

The technology for the straddle carrier

reducing features of the design, including

concrete ‘plinths’ – a quieter, smoother

open to the public for a few months

alternative to the traditional sleepers

and it’s well-used by the community.

laid over stony ballast.

We have people using the basketball

The last of the major works were

courts, the table tennis tables, the

completed around October 2018 and

playground equipment, joggers and

all the space underneath the train line

cyclists, families riding their pushbikes

– the 17-kilometre long shared user path

along the entire length of the park.

and the linear park – is now open to the public.

“I’ve been out there myself for a jog and a run along the linear park. What has

“This was always seen as a relatively

really been probably one of the proudest

controversial project because we put

moments for the project team and myself

the train line up in the air,” he reveals.

is that it has really changed the face of

“So, in the early days, there was a bit of

these suburbs and the way that these

trepidation in the community about what

people interact around the train line.

it would look like at the end. But it’s been

“It’s opened up the entire suburb and

E X E C U T I V E P R OF IL E

Brett Summers With more than 20 years’ experience as an engineer, Brett Summers took up the role of Project Director at the Level Crossing Removal Project in April 2015, overseeing an unprecedented overhaul of the Cranbourne/Pakenham line with the Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project.

Brett is no stranger to working on major rail projects across Melbourne, having held previous managerial roles for a number of years withthe Regional Rail Link Authority and Department of Transport.

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made their lives easier to get from point A to point B.” Social inclusion is a very strong policy at the Level Crossing Removal Project, and something the

“We’re very conscious that, whilst we were building new infrastructure, we wanted to recognise and look back and reflect on the past that’d come 13 before us” — Brett Summers Project Director, Caulfield to Dandenong at Level Crossing Removal Authority

program is extremely proud of.

Whether it’s consulting train drivers and the end operators on the line about

tice is also something that was at the

signal designs, helping veterans out

forefront of everything the project did.

with a job in the construction industry,

From installing solar panels to using

or helping local underprivileged families,

the wood from original stations to make

Summers says: “With every dollar that

seats and playgrounds scattering the

we spent on this project, we tried to

corridor, to restoring station buildings

always find a way that we could return

– it worked with the Chisholm Institute

some benefit to the community.”

of TAFE to restore the original heritage-

Sustainability and world’s best-prac-

listed Clayton station building – Summers w w w.l eve l c ro ssi ngs.vi c. g ov. a u

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“With every dollar spent on this project, we tried to always find a way that we could return some benefit to the community” — Brett Summers Project Director, Caulfield to Dandenong at Level Crossing Removal Authority

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22.5

Hectares of open space created

6km

Of new elevated bridge

Memorial plaques and monuments honouring soldiers who served in armed conflict along the corridor, including at Clayton and St Albans are also a nice touch, and the project works with Veterans in Construction, which helps secure veterans a pathway in to the construction industry.

There used to be an Avenue of Honour where trees had been planted

30,000 16

New trees and shrubs planted

explains it was important to retain the history.

“It’s marrying the new with the old,” he says. “In the seating backs we’ve installed at all these stations, we recognise the history of each of the individual places.

So, whilst it looks like a brand new station you can catch the train from, there’s actually old historical images and photos so you get a sense of what that area used to look like.

“Again, we’re very conscious that, whilst we were building new infrastructure, we wanted to recognise and look back and reflect on the past that’d come before us.”

for veterans. The project took the seeds from those original trees and planted them early on to grow saplings, “and we

recreated that original Avenue of Honour

project planted more than 30,000

in this remembrance space,” he adds.

trees and shrubs.

“The feedback was hugely positive

On the rail lines, both the train

and we had our first Remembrance Day

passengers and the drivers have been

ceremony there on the 11th of November.”

complimentary about the new tracks,

The team also needed to remove some very old river red gums during the project

replacing ones that were up to 100 years old.

and again, they took the seeds from

“You don’t get the clickety-clack and

those and planted them back the rail

bouncing backwards and forwards of

corridor. “It was something we were very

an old train,” he explains. “And when

conscious of and hold as a badge of

they hit these new sections, there is

honour – the fact that we have repopu-

a significant change in the look, the feel,

lated with some of the original species

the sound of how the train behaves. It’s

of plants,” he smiles, revealing the

very, very smooth.”

17 C OMPA N Y FA C T S

• The Level Crossings Removal Project have removed nine level crossings between Caulfield and Dandenong in Melbourne’s southeast by elevating the Cranbourne/Pakenham line over the road in three distinct sections • Due to the program’s success, the government has expanded on the removal of 50 crossings to now eradicating 75 by 2022 w w w.l eve l c ro ssi ngs.vi c. g ov. a u

“ The proudest moments for the project team and myself is that it has really changed the face of these suburbs and the way that these people interact around the train line”

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— Brett Summers Project Director, Caulfield to Dandenong at Level Crossing Removal Authority

Although the level crossings have been removed between Caulfield and Dandenong, the same Alliance is also undertaking work to upgrade signalling and power infrastructure along the entire Cranbourne and Pakenham lines, in preparation for the introduction of High Capacity Metro Trains.

Victoria is investing $2.3 billion in 65 next-generation High Capacity Metro Trains, which are a fleet of electric multiple unit trains on order for use by Metro Trains Melbourne on the Melbourne rail network.

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They will eventually become the primary rollingstock used in the Metro Tunnel when it opens in 2025 and are due to enter service in mid-2019.

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Level Crossing Removal Project Level 9, 121 Exhibition Street Melbourne Victoria, 3000 Australia T +61 1800 105 105 www.levelcrossings.vic.gov.au