Works are powering ahead at the Webb Street, Narre Warren level crossing removal thanks to innovative solar panels that are providing sustainable energy to the project’s site office.
The 20-kilowatt solar panels have replaced the diesel generators traditionally used to power site offices and will generate about 27,000 kilowatt hours of renewable energy in one year.
The level crossing is being removed and a brand-new Narre Warren Station is being built via a rail bridge that will ease congestion, improve safety and make commuting easier for locals.
Up to 13,200 vehicles pass through the level crossing every day, with the boom gates down for up to 33% of the morning peak.
The solar panels being used at the site are powering their second project, having also been used as part of works at Old Geelong Road, Hoppers Crossing where they also replaced diesel generators.
The panels are retractable, which means they can be efficiently packed up, loaded onto trucks and taken to the next site when the project has been finished.
Rail bridge taking Shape
Works have also continued apace at Webb Street during winter, with piling works more than 95% completed and all 12 concrete Super T-beams that will support the station platforms installed.
Twenty-four of 64 L-shaped beams have been installed so far, each weighing approximately 111 tonnes and measuring 16m to 31m long.
These L-beams will be stitched together in pairs to form 32 U-troughs that will support the new, elevated tracks. The elevated station will feature 2 accessible platforms, an air-conditioned waiting room and kiosk, secure bike storage and a landscaped forecourt with seating.
The project will also improve pedestrian access to the station car parks, with a new signalised pedestrian crossing on Webb Street, a new drop-off and taxi zone, and upgraded car parking with better lighting and CCTV.
We are removing 22 level crossings on the Pakenham Line, with 13 already gone for good, which will ultimately make it boom gate free and create room for 121,000 passengers every week on the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines when the Metro Tunnel opens in 2025.
In total 110 level crossings are being removed across Melbourne, with 72 already gone for good, transforming the way people live, work and travel.
