The grand opening of Stage 1 of the Sydney Metro on May 26, 2019 marked a milestone achievement for large public infrastructure projects in Australia.
As has been the case with many major rail projects in Australia over the last 30 years, Delkor Rail played a critical role in the successful delivery of Stage 1 of Sydney Metro by suppling industry-leading rail fasteners designed to meet critical vibration & noise mitigation requirements of the project.
Delkor Rail contributed a total of 80,000 Delkor Egg and 36,000 Delkor Alt.1 rail fasteners for Stage 1 of the Sydney Metro project. The Eggs were installed in the twin 15km long tunnels between Epping & Bella Vista while the Alt.1 fastener was installed on the Skytrain, which is a 4km elevated viaduct section between Bella Vista and Rouse Hill in Sydney’s north west.
As Australia’s largest public transport project, the Sydney Metro rail project will deliver a metro rail line from Sydney’s north west to north Sydney, under Sydney Harbour and the CBD, before continuing on to South West of Sydney. Travelling above, below and on the surface, its due for completion in 2024. The Sydney Metro will deliver 66 kilometres of new track and 31 new metro stations.
Delkor Rail’s critical contribution to Sydney Metro Stage 1
Delkor Rail’s relationship with the Sydney Metro project dates back to 2013 and we have worked closely with construction contractor Northwest Rapid Transit (NRT) over the last six years. The NRT team tasked Delkor Rail with solving two issues: managing high vibration and noise attenuation and contributing to maintenance-free operation.
The Delkor Egg is a highly resilient rail fastener designed for high vibration and noise attenuation, ensuring optimum vibration and structure-borne noise reduction by providing six degrees of rail movement via a bonded rubber element that supports the top plate holding the rail.
The Delkor Alt.1 is a reliable, highly robust track fastener, and along with the Egg these fasteners reduce the need for maintenance by improving track performance and providing in track durability.
Both products use a natural rubber compound element and a unique design to provide resilience into the track form. They are very robust and designed to last – there has been no reported maintenance issues over the 30 years they have been in service.
Delkor Rail’s George Stamboulis notes that the vibration and noise mitigation performance of Delkor’s base plates have met the stringent requirements of the Sydney Metro project.
“The tunnel section passes under sensitive areas including residential and commercial premises, so there was a requirement for higher performance vibration attenuation in the tunnels than on the viaduct,” Stamboulis explains. “Because it’s elevated, it needed a robust fastening system that was also resilient. The Egg base plate is a high-performance product in terms of noise and vibration attenuation and that’s why it was selected for the tunnel sections.”
Sydney Metro is one of the largest projects that Delkor Rail has been involved in globally over the last 30 years. We are looking forward to working on the next stages of the Sydney Metro to continue to provide industry leading vibration and noise control solutions for Australia’s largest public transport project.
“Sydney Metro is up and running and our base plates are working the way they're supposed to be,” Stamboulis said. “They’re giving a smooth ride and the client is happy with the results. We look forward to further supporting the successful delivery of the Sydney Metro.”
Industry proven global rail solutions
Delkor Rail’s Egg base plates have been in service on Sydney’s existing underground rail network since 1987. Our Egg base plates have been in service on the Sydney Harbour Bridge since 1996 and are in service on the Chatswood to Epping rail link, which has become part of the Sydney Metro line.
With time-proven solutions, Delkor Rail has become a highly regarded preferred supplier to large rail projects in Australia where high vibration and noise attenuation is required. And abroad, Delkor’s base plates have been in use on major rail projects in Hong Kong, Germany, Switzerland, Singapore, Canada, Spain, Korea, Japan, New Zealand and the UK, in some cases for more than two decades.
Certified to ISO 9001 Quality Standards, Delkor Rail’s base plates are specifically designed to address vibration & noise issues facing metro train lines. Delkor Rail manufactures and provides onsite construction advice on installation methodologies for our base plate products.