Rail Operations Planning Advisory Support - Western Rail Plan
Client: Rail Projects Victoria
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Start date: 2022
End date: 2023
Duration: 11 months
Services provided: Strategic Planning, Rail Operations, Infrastructure Options Assessment, Project Governance
The Rail Operations Planning Advisory (ROPA 1) team provides strategic analysis, operational planning, and associated services to Rail Projects Victoria (RPV) to support their major ongoing investment to improve Victoria’s railways.
Arup are leading the ROPA 1 activity for RPV. ROPA 1 engaged with Network Rail Consulting (NRC) to support by seconding staff into the Arup team. The work with ROPA 1 to date has been on the Western Rail Plan, a strategic workstream exploring options for major service growth in the city’s rapidly growing west.
Network Rail Consulting has been tasked to lead a cross-industry working group, providing recommendations for capacity in Melbourne’s city centre to accommodate the additional trains resulting from initial stages of the Western Rail Plan. The project involved:
- Assessing previous activity and undertaking a gap analysis;
- A detailed review of the operational capability of the Southern Cross and Flinders Street station;
- Identifying potential train service concepts with key stakeholders;
- Identifying potential infrastructure upgrade concepts with RPV’s infrastructure design and costing team;
- Combining train service and infrastructure proposals into benefit driven packages for assessment;
- Creating a logic-driven analysis methodology, obtaining and utilising the evidence needed to inform key decisions;
- Leading a working group including RPV, DoT, V/Line and Metro Trains Melbourne to assess potential ways forward; and
- Presenting recommendations to senior leaders at RPV.
Network Rail Consulting led a cross-industry working group considering complex operational and infrastructure design constraints for the congested track layout approaches into Melbourne’s city centre. Our aim was to efficiently accommodate additional and longer trains resulting from Geelong Fast Rail and other Western Rail Plan service changes, whilst being affordable, deliverable, and consistent with the wider network strategy.
Both the Southern Cross and Flinders Street station areas are operating at close to capacity, identifying a viable way forward was a substantial challenge. Our work built on previous attempts by others, has achieved a successful and innovative concept-level outcome which is now progressing through a detailed design process. We achieved this through facilitating collaborative working across key industry stakeholders, focussing on the option-generation process, combining operational and infrastructure considerations and a “back to first principles” approach.
Through creating a logic-driven framework we were able to build packages of potential infrastructure and timetable concepts, identifying mechanisms for investigating the choices needed in detail to produce an overall evidence base. With extensive stakeholder dialogue required throughout, our process considered:
- Passenger and Freight benefits;
- Opportunities;
- Capital costs; and
- Key delivery risks.
This work facilitated a logic-trail which secured agreement at the working group of a viable way forward, that was briefed to the senior team of RPV and DoT stakeholders. Overall, our work formed a path for what would have been a substantial barrier to train service growth.