The Western Australian government has released a tender for the design of the state Public Transport Authority’s (PTA) new rail operations control centre for the automatic signalling system planned for the Perth network.
The successful tenderer’s concept design will help further the PTA’s business case for the project, which will see the development of a modern train control building. The final design will be subject to government approval.
$7.4 million has been committed by the Labor government to introduce an automatic train control (ATC) signalling system for the Transperth network, which will gradually replace the existing signalling infrastructure, and render redundant major portions of trackside equipment – thereby boosting network reliability by helping reduce unplanned service disruptions due to signalling faults.
The project to introduce the ATC system, as part of the wider Metronet program, is currently in the planning phase. Once initiated, installation of the ATC systems would take place over a 12-year period.
WA’s transport minister Rita Saffioti said that the digital ATC system would allow a greater number of trains to service Perth’s expanding rail network at a greater frequency than the current signalling network.
“The expansion of Metronet will involve a higher frequency on various parts of the network, and a new control system will greatly assist efficient operation of our trains,” Saffioti said.
“This tender will seek consultants to design and scope out what the options are for delivering this project, and what the long-term costs and benefits are likely to be, to better inform the business case.”