Talk to the Metronet team about the Yanchep train

THE Metronet project team will be at community drop-in sessions in Butler and Yanchep in September.

The session will also have representatives from Water Corporation and DevelopmentWA, which are delivering key projects in the area.

Registration for the sessions is essential and there are three 45-minute time slots to choose from.

Due to current Covid-19 phase 4 restrictions, numbers will be capped at 100 people per session.

Register here for the community drop-in session at Butler Community Centre on Saturday, September 5 from 1pm to 4pm.

Register here for the community drop-in session at the Oldham Park clubrooms on Saturday, September 12 from 10am to 3pm.

In its August newsletter Metronet said in six months, the Yanchep rail extension corridor from Butler station to Pipidinny Rd and both sites for the future Alkimos and Eglinton stations have been fully cleared.

Along the way, a golf buggy and a selection of car parts have been removed from the rail corridor which is now also completely fenced.

Bulk earthworks started in May, creating channels in sand dunes and the start of digging the trench for the rail line.

More than 270,000 cubed metres of fill (sand, rock and limestone) had been moved already, which equates to about 110 Olympic size swimming pools or 470,000 tonnes.

Once the site preparations are complete, the major contractor will start earthworks to bring the corridor to its final rail formation level, to reduce noise and visual impact for residents.

As works continue to progress, the community can expect to see a greater on-ground presence of construction crews with the project’s main site office to be established near Butler station.

There will be a number of smaller compounds and site offices along the alignment.

In May the project reached another important milestone when part 2 received federal government approval, having received state government approval earlier this year.

The 7.2km area stretching from north of Eglinton to north of Yanchep includes the Ningana bushland, an area that will have extra controls in place from the project to reduce potential construction impacts.

The state government approval comes with a range of conditions that the project will have to meet, including building three green bridges in the Ningana Bush Forever region.

The green bridges will be only the second time they have been used in Perth and will give animals safe places to cross the rail.

Each bridge will be a minimum of 30m wide, and span about 22m.

While Perth has a number of active fauna underpasses, Perth’s only existing green bridge (or fauna overpass) is located on the Tonkin Highway near Maralla Road in Ellenbrook.

All design packages are 15 per cent completed and going through the required review process.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the design for the Yanchep rail extension had reached a significant project accomplishment.

“The design includes details of the new stations which take into account the needs of rail passengers, as well as integrating with the planned future precincts” she said.

The Alkimos station design is particularly noteworthy for its integration into the future Alkimos Central precinct.

The design, created in partnership with Development WA, details a cut and cover construction technique and includes parking facilities, bus interchanges, passenger amenities and cycling facilities to cater for patrons.

Throughout the design process, the team will seek input from key stakeholders including the City of Wanneroo and project reference groups including the community reference group, Metronet Noongar reference group and Metronet access and inclusion reference group.

The Yanchep rail extension is expected to start carrying passengers in 2022.