Designing Western Sydney’s new airport metro railway

Global expertise creates a 24-hour engineering design team

We had a complex design programme, with a high volume of work and tight deadlines. To tackle these challenges, we took a global approach, with our Sydney team seamlessly collaborating with colleagues in Singapore, London, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.

We brought together our most skilled rail engineers from each location and implemented a 24-hour work cycle to maintain momentum. Each team had a dedicated Sydney project manager to drive precise design coordination, meeting Australian standards at every stage.

Our round-the-clock, coordinated approach allowed us to meet every project milestone, deliver work on time and uphold the highest quality standards. Through efficient collaboration, we overcame the project’s complexities and delivered quality results across multiple locations.

Ground monitoring reduces uncertainties with rare soil type

We encountered significant technical challenges when designing stations in Western Sydney’s rare clay-like soil – a first for this type of project. Constructing a 20-metre-deep station in such unpredictable material presented unique difficulties, with no previous examples or established practices to guide our approach.

To address these challenges, our team conducted continuous ground monitoring and design recalibrations to adapt designs as new data emerged. We had a dedicated team working to interpret live data and make timely, data-driven adjustments to the designs.

By using real-time insights and maintaining a flexible approach, we managed the complexities of this soil type effectively. This strategy allowed us to make steady progress despite the unique challenges of the material, laying a solid foundation for future projects in Western Sydney.

Naturally ventilated stations keep comfort high and energy use low

Sydney Metro set bold sustainability targets for our team, including achieving a 5-star Green Star buildings rating across all facilities, fully electric designs and reduced embodied carbon. Simultaneously, we needed to prioritise delivering a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable passenger experience both inside the stations and in the journey to surrounding areas. Our key challenges included minimising energy use, mitigating the urban heat island effect, and ensuring passenger safety and comfort, particularly at night.

To address these challenges, we designed all stations and the stabling yard with natural ventilation and augmented comfort conditioning to reduce energy consumption while maintaining a comfortable temperature. Advanced airflow modelling techniques, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and residual flow analysis, helped us balance airflows and account for train-induced air movements.

Outside the stations, the urban heat island effect was controlled by planting trees, adding canopies, and using reflective surfaces to create shaded, cooler areas. Thoughtful lighting and wayfinding elements ensure passengers feel safe and comfortable at night, providing a seamless and secure journey from station to surroundings. Our design also incorporates long-term adaptation strategies to address future climate risks, ensuring resilience and maintaining comfort for years to come.