Delkor Rail is pleased to have successfully completed delivery of the resilient rail fasteners Delkor Low Profile Eggs and Delkor Alt.1 baseplates to Sydney Metro for stage 1 of Australia’s largest public transport project. Working closely with Northwest Rapid Transit (NRT) the tight project delivery requirements were met without any major issues. A total of 80,000 Eggs and 36,000 Alt.1 baseplate have been delivered.
This ambitious undertaking will see a metro line running all the way from Sydney’s north west to north Sydney, before travelling under Sydney Harbour to the CBD and out to the south west of Sydney. Once complete, Sydney Metro will deliver 31 new metro stations and more than 66 kilometres of new track.
15-kilometres of tunnels are now complete from Bella Vista to Epping, and Stage 2, which commenced early 2018, will see tunnelling from Chatswood to Sydenham, including running under Sydney Harbour and the Sydney CBD.
This is a highly challenging project given the many landscapes and terrains its needs to cover.
One of the challenges of the project is the length of track required and the conditions the Metro needs to operate under in the tunnel sections. Running underground through densely populated parts of Sydney, a high level of importance has been placed on vibration and structure borne noise control once the track is in use.
The new Low Profile Delkor Egg baseplate was chosen for use in the tunnels within the Sydney metro as they have been specifically designed to deliver high vibration and noise attenuation, making it ideal for use in underground tracks where vibration and ground borne noise reduction is required. Egg baseplates have been in service in the Sydney City Underground for over thirty years having been first installed in the City Circle Line back in the mid 1980’s. They have also been installed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Chatswood to Epping Rail Link which now forms part of the new Sydney Metro line.
From under to over, the Sydney Metro in the north west runs above ground for four kilometres between Bella Vista and Rouse Hill. The Skytrain viaduct operates at a height of between 10 and 13 metres above ground level and is supported with 130 concrete piers, spaced approximately 39 metres apart. The two new railway stations on the Skytrain, Kellyville and Rouse Hill, are elevated and the platforms are above ground.
The Delkor Alt.1 baseplate was used for the Skytrain, as the focus for the success of the elevated metro line was not placed on vibration and noise attenuation, but on long service life. The Delkor Alt.1 baseplate is a reliable and highly robust rail fastener for maintenance-free operation. The Alt.1 baseplate has been in service in Australia since 1991 proving to be virtually maintenance free.
Delkor Rail has been a part of many of the major rail infrastructure projects that are changing the way Australians commute across the country. They are also involved in many projects overseas including the London Underground Tube, Singapore, Hong Kong and numerous other metro projects around the world.