By Matthew Sims
Construction of the new Pakenham and East Pakenham stations and the removal of three level crossings along the Pakenham line continues to progress.
Works, including a 2.5km rail bridge design with a new Pakenham Station and extending the metropolitan rail line two kilometres and building a new East Pakenham Station, are progressing well on site, as crews work to remove three level crossings at McGregor Road, Main Street and Racecourse Road.
The fit out of both Pakenham and East Pakenham stations are continuing, with station signage and seating installed recently on the platforms at Pakenham Station and 80 solar panels added to the roof.
Crews are also working on both station concourses and the underpass at East Pakenham Station which is nearly complete.
With the East Pakenham and Pakenham works launching last June, including the decommissioning and removal of the existing tracks and the construction team installing drainage structures in Deep Creek and Pakenham Creek, the team got to work on installing the ballast and sleepers along the line, with the Pakenham project using 60,000 tonnes of ballast.
Metro Trains senior project engineer Rhys Glowaski said the project is using concrete sleepers, replacing the old wooden ones, which have been donated to Walhalla Goldfields Railway, and old concrete sleepers, donated to Yarra Valley Railway.
“In East Pakenham, we are laying around 6000 sleepers, and on an uninterrupted day we can lay as many as 1600 sleepers,“ he said.
“Concrete sleepers have a better life expectancy and can handle larger train wheel loads over the traditional timber sleepers.“
At the Pakenham Station car park, crews are installing kerbs, and getting ready to place asphalt later this month.
The concrete piers under the elevated rail line are painted with a bright blue to indicate the active areas in the open space; the exercise area, the playground, and the basketball court.
The level crossings at Main Street, McGregor Road and Racecourse Road in Pakenham are three of 22 crossings being removed on the Pakenham Line, which will be level crossing free by next year.
This year, the three level crossings will be gone, and new stations open at Pakenham and East Pakenham, as well as six MCGs worth of community open space created for locals to enjoy.
