Port Rail Transformation

About

The Port Rail Transformation Project is the cornerstone of Port of Melbourne’s new rail infrastructure, ensuring and supporting trade growth strategy to meet Victoria’s and southeast Australia’s freight needs.

Seymour Whyte was awarded the project in early 2021 under an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) novated design and construct (D&C) model to:

• construct two new rail sidings into the Swanston Dock East terminal
• construct and relocate 1.2km of heavy vehicle rated roads
• install 70,000m² of container rated pavement with the ultimate aim of increasing ship to rail transport capabilities and reducing truck numbers on the metro road network.

During the ECI phase, Seymour Whyte worked closely with the Port and its designers, WSP, in the identification of smart constructable solutions and value management ideas to overcome the many project complexities to:

• manage and reduce disposal of contaminated soil
• mitigate risk of unknown services by confirming design solutions prior to commencing onsite
• conduct groundwater modelling to ensure management of dewatering strategy
• provide contractor input into a robust design to reduce risk on ultimate delivery.