A preferred party has been selected from five finalists for the Andrews Government’s $518 million upgrade to the Ballarat line.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Tuesday that a consortium of Lendlease, Coleman Rail, and SMEC had been selected as preferred bidder for the contract.
The news comes a week after Andrews claimed a victory over the Federal Government, securing $1.4 billion in Commonwealth funding for regional rail projects – half a billion of which will go towards the Ballarat upgrade.
The upgrade will duplicate 18 kilometres of track between Deer Park West and Melton, paving the way for future electrification to Melton, the premier said.
The Lendlease, Coleman Rail and SMEC consortium was one of the five shortlisted parties announced for the contract in June.
A consortium of John Holland, Arcadis and KBR; a consortium of Laing O’Rourke and AECOM; a consortium of CPB Contractors and WSP; and a consortium of McConnell Dowell, RCR O’Donnell Griffin, Arup and GHD were also shortlisted.
Along with the duplication, the project aims to deliver extra passing loops, new train stabling, better stations, and more car parking. It will also relocate stabling at Bacchus Marsh station to Maddingley.
“We’re not wasting a moment upgrading the Ballarat line, and every regional passenger line in Victoria,” Andrews said. “We won the fight to revive regional rail and now we’re getting on with building the projects that regional Victorians need.”
The state says the upgrade project will enable more trains to run more often in Melbourne’s west. It says the project will create up to 400 jobs during construction.
Over 200 site investigations have been conducted and nearly 90 boreholes have been dug since February, to help the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority understand ground conditions along the Ballarat corridor.