The Forrestfield Line will integrate with the existing rail network in Perth, Australia and deliver an 8.5 km-long rail extension from the Midland Line east of Bayswater to Forrestfield via Perth Airport; three new stations, Airport West and Forrestfield and Consolidated Airport; and expanded and new bus feeder services. The Public Transport Authority (PTA) started exploring route studies and options back in 2008 and chose the mainly underground project with a lower environmental impact. The chosen rail alignment for Forrestfield-Airport Link is down Tonkin Highway and as direct as possible into and through the Airport, which by necessity involves tunnelling under the taxiways and runways. From Bayswater, the Forrestfield-Airport Link tunnels will allow trains to pop up at Airport West Station, stop at a completely underground station at Consolidated Airport Station, and resurface before they pull into the above ground terminus.
The two 8 km tunnels, 6.2 m internal diameter, will reach the deepest point at 26 m under the Swan River.
The project is currently in its planning and engineering development phase. In late August, 2014 Golder Associates secured the EUR3.96 million contract for important geotechnical studies of the planned Forrestfield-Airport Link. Geotechnical and ground water investigations will be carried out to give the PTA a more detailed understanding of what the conditions are underground where the rail tunnels will be constructed by the two TBMs from Forrestfield to Bayswater. The work by Golder Associates will also assess possible impacts on nearby facilities, and options for reuse of significant quantities of excavated soil. Procurement will begin in 2015. Construction is due to start in 2016 for completion of the rail line in 2020. For further information click
here and visit
http://www.forrestfieldairportlink.wa.gov.au. 44/14.
