With help from CH2M HILL, the 78th and final Waratah train achieved practical completion and entered passenger service on 29 May, headed for the tracks of the Sydney suburban rail network in Australia the next day.
The last train milestone marks the culmination of nearly 10 years’ work by CH2M HILL as technical advisor to Sydney Trains, the operators of the Waratah fleet.
The Waratah project started in 2004 with the launch of a public-private partnership (P3) project by the New South Wales state government to procure new trains that would replace the last non-air-conditioned vehicles in the Sydney fleet.
CH2M HILL was engaged from almost the start of the project and helped to prepare the tender documents, evaluate the tenders received, review the designs, and monitor manufacturing and construction not only of the 626 new air-conditioned cars (78, eight-car train sets, plus two spare driving cars), but also crew training simulators and a new train maintenance facility at Auburn in Sydney’s western suburbs.
The trains were built in Changchun, Jilin Province, China; and CH2M HILL brought together a team of engineers and other specialists there to monitor and witness all stages of manufacturing and testing before the trains were shipped to Australia.
Since the first train entered service in July 2011, CH2M HILL has continued to support Sydney Trains with final testing and commissioning of each train, which has resulted in one new train entering service every 2 weeks. This is the largest single procurement of trains in Australian history, and the new fleet constitutes about half of Sydney’s suburban electric train fleet.
“Everyone involved in the Waratah project can be very proud of their achievement in getting the trains into service and being able to say they played a part in the successful introduction of Sydney’s – and Australia’s – largest passenger train fleet,” says Project Manager John Nuttall. “I congratulate and thank all the project team members who have, in whatever capacity and no matter how great or small their level of input, supported our client, Sydney Trains, in achieving this goal.”
At its peak, approximately 30 employees were working on the project, both full- and part-time. Although most were from the Australia and New Zealand sub-region, the project also drew on the expertise of employees from the UK and China.
This project marks yet another key milestone for the Transportation Market’s growing Transit and Rail market segment – the fastest growing segment in Transportation. It also highlights a unique differentiator for the firm with CH2M HILL recognized as a global leader in vehicle engineering and procurement in all the geographies we serve.