Forrestfield Rail Link open at last!!! (But I think we have ongoing maintenance contracts from now as well??)
And this must be a hugely special day to all those at NRW who spun this company’s destiny on this enormous contract
Congratulations !!
NWH was just 5.8c a share when the NRW/Salini JV became the preferred proponent here on 18/02/2016 [a view down memory lane].
… It is a huge credit to Jules and Andrew the way they built on this win and not only kept NRW alive but have grown and diversified the company and thrived since then - despite huge the difficulties during and post-Covid and more.
You guys are a credit to WA.
And thank you so much to those with knowledge and experience of the stock market, this company, all companies and of course TA who have ridden along and shared the ride on HC ….
For me it’s been life changing in ALL ways : )
Anthony Albanese is in Perth opening High Wycombe Station. Credit: Simon Santi/The West Australian
Anthony Albanese has officially opened the new Metronet airport rail line, with the Premier and Transport Minister saying it’s quite an achievement given the supply chain chaos caused by COVID.
The $1.86 billion project adds 8.5km to Perth’s rail network, and travels underneath the Swan River and Perth Airport, reaching around 27m below ground at its deepest point.
Jointly funded $490 million by the Commonwealth and $1.37 billion by the State Government, it was originally slated to open in 2020 but got pushed back by the health crisis.
“It’s impressive not just in terms of improving productivity, livability and sustainability ... it’s also impressive because of how they’re doing it, building trains here ... creating jobs and boosting the WA economy,” the Prime Minister said.
“It is actually very smart to invest in Australian manufacturing. We can build things here.”
Mark McGowan noted the obvious difficulties delivering the project, not just the pandemic causing havoc.
“All of the issues that affected the world economy because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, some of the technical difficulties because of the fact they were tunnelling through sandy soil,” he told reporters at Airport Central station.
“But the great thing is, it’s now opened. It (was) delayed it a little bit but in the overall scheme of things, this rail line and this station will be here for centuries.”
Mr McGowan also suggested the two-zone fare cap of $5 for adults - about a quarter of the charge in Melbourne and Sydney - was here to stay.
“We have made a conscious decision to help families with cost of living by capping our rail and bus fares at two zones,” he said.
Rita Safiotti said she’d received feedback from people “pretty impressed” with the amount of Metronet work underway.
“If you’re building a pergola, if you’re building a house, we all know that things have changed because of supply chain interruptions, unprecedented COVID, a war in Russia and Ukraine,” the Minister said.
“I always we knew we’d do it ... but tunnelling through soft sand is pretty challenging.”
She said public transport patronage levels were back to around 85 per cent, with some people still working from home.
Tunnelling for the Perth Airport line — rebadged from the Forrestfield-Airport Link — encountered sink holes, flooding and multiple serious workplace injuries — including the near death of construction worker Joshua Butterworth when he was hit in the face by a high-pressure hose.
(20min delay)