Epping To Chatswood Railway Line - Construction

Construction

Construction of the PRL began with the Chatswood to Epping section, which commenced in November 2002.

In August 2003 the NSW Transport Minister, Michael Costa, announced that the Epping-Parramatta section would be postponed indefinitely. The delaying of this section was justified on the grounds that the expected daily patronage of 15,000 passenger trips did not justify the project's $1.2 billion cost. The government feared that the line would be under-utilised, much as the Airport Link (a public-private project) has been. There also had been community protest against the routing of the line through Parramatta Park (one of three possible routes supplied by the government). The government later announced the construction of a passing loop on the Carlingford line, which would have allowed a half-hourly frequency all day, however this project was cancelled in November 2008.

Originally, there was to be a bridge over the Lane Cove River, instead of a tunnel beneath it, but the government adopted the tunnel option due to community and environmentalist pressure. This required the elimination of the planned station at the University of Technology, Sydney, Kuring-gai Campus; the required increased depth of the tunnel to go under the river made a station at that point impractical, due to the required depth of the escalator shafts.

Thiess and Hochtief delivered the project as a joint venture which included the design and construction of a driven railway and four fully mined stations. The line consists of two tunnels – one for each track. The tunnels were constructed using two tunnel boring machines, with a section underneath the Lane Cove River being constructed by the cut and cover method (next to where Delhi Road crosses the River). The line is fully bi-directional, with three crossovers to allow trains to switch tracks in the event of a disruption. The tunnels include a walkway on one side, at platform height.

Several associated works have also been completed to coincide with the opening of the new line. These include the rebuilt Chatswood interchange, a major upgrade at Epping, an upgrade of North Sydney station, the Hornsby turnback Rail Clearways project and new substations at Waverton & Beecroft.