Under Pass

A massive project to run trains under Sydney Harbour requires the right fleet of hire equipment to get it built.

The Project

Sydney Metro is Australia’s biggest public transport project. The new railway line will deliver 31 metro stations and more than 66 kilometres of new metro rail, revolutionising the way Australia’s biggest city travels. Sydney Metro City & Southwest is budgeted at between $11.5 and $12.5 billion and forecast to be finished by 2024.

The City and Southwest component of the project extends the new metro network from the end of Sydney Metro Northwest at Chatswood, under Sydney Harbour, through the CBD, and west to Bankstown.

The contractors John Holland, CPB and Ghella (JHCPBG) have been contracted by Sydney Metro to complete the major tunnel and station excavation works. JHCPBG will design and construct the twin 15.5 kilometre rail tunnels between Chatswood and Sydenham, and excavate six new stations.

The Problem

Sydney Metro City & Southwest is a large project spread over many sites; from Chatswood on the North Shore to Sydenham in the inner-west and beyond to Bankstown. There are six tunnelling work sites located at Marrickville, Chatswood, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place and Pitt Street, with two additional station sites at Crows Nest and Waterloo. The project will create around 3,500 jobs and is being delivered to tight deadlines. The entire project is located in Australia’s largest and most traffic-intensive city.

The Solution

JHCPBG’s Construction Manager, Jeremy Glasgow, says the joint venture partners started work in June 2017 and are expected to complete their $2.81 billion project to excavate and line the tunnels and stations, by 2021. “The size and scope of the project means the workforce is dispersed across the city, using a lot of distributed equipment,” says Glasgow.

He says the required equipment ranges from basic construction equipment - such as generators, compressors, elevated work platforms and site accommodations - to more bespoke gear such as excavators, pumps and propping required for underground works. Much of the work has to take place at night, necessitating a fleet of lighting towers.

“This project is using a lot of lighting, generators and pumps,” says Glasgow. “We’re also using a large fleet of scissor lifts and crawler booms - a lot of the work is at height.”

Business Development Manager for Coates Hire, Grant Voysey, says Coates Hire is supplying most of the hire equipment.

“This is a major contract for us. It was a year in the planning with the project partners, and we have a Major Project Manager on-site, managing it.”

The equipment includes shoring, propping, small tools and access equipment such as scissor lifts, boom lifts, crawler booms and specially-ordered track booms that reach 45 feet and carry three people in the basket rather than the standard two.

Coates Hire has also called on its fleet of generators and compressors, supplying power plants from 1200 kva down to 60, and air compressors from 875 cfm down to 130. Also supplied are site accommodations, light towers and people movers, which are industrial buggies that move people around the sites.

Voysey says Coates Hire is the main supplier of hire equipment not only because of the depth and modernity of fleet but because of servicing, safety and cost-controls.

“Our gear is continually serviced and we have two fulltime mechanics on the metro project ensuring that the equipment is up and running.

“The client also uses the My Coates Hire online system to track all their hires and usage, allowing them to shift equipment to where it’s most needed and ensuring no wastage.”

Voysey says the Coates Hire safety-management system makes Australia’s largest hire company a sought-after supplier for large projects.

“All our equipment goes through safety and maintenance checks and gets the full documentation before it gets a ‘ready for hire’ white tag. That’s a major trust-factor for clients.”

Jeremy Glasgow says service is crucial. “Many members of our team have strong, longstanding relationships with Coates Hire. If there’s a problem, we know we can phone Coates Hire to resolve it immediately.” Glasgow also says Coates Hire is an industry leader in safety.

“At tier one construction companies we have requirements for ensuring equipment is checked and the appropriate documentation is in place,” says Glasgow. “Coates Hire has all that covered.”

He says Coates Hire is a large company, but nimble enough to respond to ad hoc demands. “Coates Hire goes above and beyond to ensure that we have the equipment on site when we need it. They have a strong culture of putting their customers first.”