South West Rail Link

The Rossmore Stabling Yard on the South West Rail Link was designed to stable up to 20, 8 carriage commuter trains between 11 service and maintenance platforms. Installing the services essential to operate the Stabling Yard in the limited space required careful planning to ensure potential service clashes were resolved prior to construction.

The first stage of construction was the excavation of up to 10m of rock. Once at formation level, the deepest services started to be installed. These mainly consisted of gravity fed drainage and sewer as well as the many under line crossings (ULX). Each of the 11 maintenance platforms required connections to:
• Electricity- AC, High and Low voltage, DC
• Water- Potable and Hydrant lines
• Drainage
• Sewer
• Railway Communications
• Railway Signalling
• Compressed Air

Our surveyors were required to 3D model all the design services maintaining minimum and maximum cover to finished level as well as minimum distances between adjacent service trenches. The client was able to utilise this information to minimise trench excavation and eliminate the need to excavate below previously laid services reducing the risk of service strike as well as saving time and money.

With up to six crews laying services at any time, our surveyors were responsible for the setting out, work as executed (WAE) and conformance reporting of every conduit or pipe laid. Due to the density of services in the Stabling Yard, the tolerances were very tight to ensure the services laid would not clash with surface infrastructure, piles or breach the minimum depth requirements. The survey equipment used was the Trimble R8 GPS and Leica TS15/MS50 using 12d Field.

12d Field was essential throughout the construction process. It provided our surveyors with all design and WAE data ‘in hand’ eliminating the need to plot set out and alignment diagrams saving countless hours in the office and field. Due to the nature of a design and construct project and using over five different design consultants, re-designs were almost a daily occurrence during the construction phase. To avoid the surveyors in the field using superseded design data, a data management plan was implemented. Our solution was to ‘Share and Synchronise’ all design and WAE data from a central master directory. This system worked flawlessly. All superseded data was removed from the field surveyors tablet by connecting to a mobile network through a sim card inside the tablet or by connecting through the local network by inserting the tablet into its dock in the site office. This eliminated the potential for setting out superseded design, reducing the risk of re-works due to survey error.

The installed services were required to produce permit to excavate plots weekly, WAE ‘red line’ drawings to the client as well as a Detailed Site Survey (DSS) model to Sydney Trains.

DSS is the utility location system used by Sydney Trains. It is a database and supporting plans of all rail infrastructure, services and topographic features within the rail corridor state wide. Creating a DSS model of the Stabling yard was a monumental task however Lynton Surveys excelled in providing all the required detail to the client. Sydney Trains has since accepted the DSS for the South West Rail Link including the Rossmore Stabling Yard.

Although the underground services in the Stabling Yard were the greatest challenge for the survey teams, the many other supporting structures needed to be constructed concurrently.

These included:
• A 3 storey facilities building, to be used by Sydney Trains staff to operate the Stabling Yard
• A substation to provide the large amount of electricity required.
• Compressor house, hydrant boosters, toilet blocks, storage buildings multiple electrical switch rooms.
• Noise walls
• Overhead wiring stanchions
• Platforms
• Access roads and carparks
• Concrete service pits
• Landscaping and fencing
• Signalling infrastructure

Throughout the two year construction of the Rossmore Stabling Yard, our surveyors prided themselves on their attention to detail, consultation with the client and their sub-contractors, time management, document control and quality standards.

Lynton Surveys is proud to have been a part in delivering a state of the art Stabling Yard as part of the South West Rail Link to Sydney Trains with high quality, environmental and safety standards.