Setting a new benchmark for metropolitan railway station design

Minimising disruption within a complex and constrained environment

The station site was immediately adjacent to an existing operational metropolitan railway line and surrounded by major arterial roads and intersection, making it critical that the design and staging minimised impacts on rail and road services and the public and local businesses during construction. The key elements were:

• Constructing the new station offline, with the adjacent existing station remaining functional for the duration of the project, having minimal impact on station users.
• Lowering the Seaford rail line underneath Morphett Road with a top-down construction approach, allowing the new rail line to be constructed offline and adjacent to the existing live rail.
• Designing the bridge construction to be undertaken in halves.

This staged construction of the road bridge and off-line construction methodology enabled the fully commissioned station to be stitched onto the live network through only one main 24-day closure of rail services. Previous local rail projects saw lines closed for months at a time whereas Oaklands Crossing only required a few weeks. Roads continued to flow, the previous station continued operation, and the final occupation was kept to an absolute minimum. 

Creating a successful place for people

The station precinct now encourages walking, cycling and the use of public transport in what was previously a precinct dominated by vehicles.

The deliberate decision to create a place for passengers and the public to gather, saw the excavated area of the station precinct reduced, and green space maximised at ground level both north and south of the station. The design also made it possible to retain a pre-European remnant river red gum tree, which now forms a significant placemark in the upper plaza level of the station.

Working with COX Architects and ASPECT Studios to improve the local landscape, the station is now easily accessible and has excellent passive surveillance to make it feel safe both day and night. By designing infrastructure to meet and respond to the needs of the people who use it, we have helped to create a place for passengers and the public to gather and enjoy themselves.

The universal use of 3D design tools

Universal adoption of 3D design tools was key to the project’s success, helping to create a truly collaborative approach across all disciplines. Each discipline designed and modelled using 3D software, and models were shared daily and combined weekly for coordination and clash detection. This process enabled the complex and potentially competing demands from each discipline to be evaluated against each other, optimising the design as the project progressed.

The design was communicated to the construction team through a combination of conventional drawings and 3D models, which helped to minimise additional requests for information during the site phase.