What is Metronet?

What is Metronet WA?

If you live in WA then will have heard a lot of mention of Metronet & Metronet Jobs in the Papers, on Social Media and by Politicians.  However what exactly is Metronet, why are they doing it, when will construction start and what types of construction and rail jobs will it create?

Well, put quite simply it’s the State and Federal governments plans to spend circa $4bn expanding and upgrading Perth’s train network over the next 6 to 8 years. Stage One of Metronet will involve about 72km of new track as well as the Forrestfield Airport Link.

Metronet Stage 1

• Completing the Forrestfield-Airport Railway Link
• Extending the Joondalup Rail Line to Yanchep
• Linking Thornlie and Cockburn Central Train Stations
• Planning and building the new Morley-Ellenbrook Rail Line
• Extending the Armadale Rail Line to Byford
• Relocating Midland Train Station and extending the Midland Rail Line to Bellevue
• Building a new rail station at Karnup on the Mandurah train Line
• Starting a program to remove level crossings on the Armadale and Midland rail lines
• Designing and manufacturing the next C-Series trains

 

Why are they doing this you may ask?

Well they are doing it for a number of reasons;

• It will ease the congestion on todays roads.
• Increase the housing density in the metro area by encouraging developers to build high density housing near the new and upgraded train stations.
• Develop the infrastructure that will support the projected future population of 4m in 35 years’ time (currently $2m)
• Encourage people to use public transport again. The hope is that more people will return to public transport thusly increasing revenue and reducing the current annual $1bn subsidy the state puts into the Public Transport Authority.
• Provide better access to the Airport

 

So, has construction started?

 Yes, it has but there are still several projects in the planning stage.

• The Forrestfield Airport link: Construction has been underway since 2017 with a completion date of 2020.
• The Thornlie – Cockburn link: Procurement for a main contractor has begun in mid-2018, with contract award in 2019. Main construction is expected to begin shortly after.
• Yanchep Rail Line Extension: Construction is expected to begin in 2019.
• Morley Ellenbrook Link: Details on the construction method and timeframe will be developed and confirmed during the planning phase.
• Byford Rail Line Extension: It is estimated the project business case and Project Definition Plan will be completed in late 2018
• Midland Train Station Project: No start date is yet in place but it is estimated the full project will take up to three years to complete.
• Karnup Train Station: No start date is yet in place, but it is estimated the full project will take up to three years to complete.

 

So what type of employment will Metronet bring?

All in all, Metronet is expected to provide 3,000 construction jobs at its peak. Roles will include Rail Workers, Track Worker, Welders, Machine Operators, Hi Rail Operators, Safeworkers, Signal Technicians, Track Protection Officers and many more.

If you work in the Rail and Civil industries then things are certainly looking busy over the next few years, see details of the governments $75bn infrastructure spend here which includes many rail and civil projects.

On Track Recruitment Solutions are a Civil Labour Hire and a Rail Labour Hire provider of choice and we will be engaged by many of the contractors on these projects so feel free to get in contact today to discuss how we can either help you get workers or get you work. Our office is here in Perth and we can be reached on 08 6444 7853. You can also submit your resume direct to us on our website.