$955 million Sydney Metro contract awarded to Laing O’Rourke

Works are set to begin on the new Sydney Metro underground platforms at Central Station and the Central Walk, following the $955 million contract award to Laing O’Rourke.

The contract is set to transform Sydney’s busiest station and represents the biggest improvement to the station. The upgrade is set to make it easier for customers to connect between light rail, suburban and intercity trains, the new Sydney Metro and buses.

The Central contract works includes:

• The excavation and construction of the new underground Sydney Metro platforms at Central beneath platforms 13 and 14;
• Central Walk – a new 19-metre wide underground concourse from Chalmers Street, connecting customers to suburban rail platforms, Sydney Metro platforms, the new light rail and buses;
• For the first time, customers will be able to use escalators to get to platforms 12 to 23;
• Completion of the Central Walk and Central Station metro upgrade contract is expected in 2022, with Central Walk open to customers.

Works will continue further along the 30km length of the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project after the Central contract is complete, with tracks to be laid out and stations fit out before services start in 2024.

Minister for Transport and Infrastructure Andrew Constance said the massive upgrade to Central Station represents the biggest improvement to the station in decades.

“This is the start of Central’s long-awaited renewal, bringing new entrances and simpler interchanges that will make life so much easier for customers,” Mr Constance said.

“Central Station is the gateway to our great city, and we are working to develop a station that blends heritage with innovative design on par with other grand stations around the world.

A new pedestrian gateway to the easter and better linking between the suburban rail network will be available following the first step in the renewal of Central Station.

The number of people using the station daily is expected to rise from 270,000 to 450,000 within the next two decades.

Works will happen underground for the Sydney Metro platforms at Central and commence during Sydney Trains’ scheduled maintenance shutdowns.

Major construction on the first part of the Sydney Metro City and Southwest project at Central has been completed including the construction of the rail access bridge, which will safely deliver Sydney Metro and improve access for ongoing maintenance work at Central.

This bridge took 10 months to build and connects Regent Street with Sydney Yard which allows for easier truck access within the confines of a working railway.

As the Sydney Metro project is such a large scale project, the final Central contract value is subject to change depending on ongoing fine-tuning and optimisation involving the 14 other major contracts, for which tenders have yet to be received.

By the end of this year, the first of five mega tunnel boring machines will be in the ground and set to deliver the twin 15.5km metro rail tunnels between Chatswood and Sydenham.

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