The last piece of track has been laid on the METRONET Forrestfield-Airport Link, a major milestone towards the project's completion.
More than 27,000 sleepers and 2,400 tonnes of Australian-made steel were used to install more than 16 kilometres of track from Bayswater Junction to High Wycombe Station.
Work is also continuing on installing the overhead conductor rail (OCR) and overhead line equipment (OLE), which will carry the 25 kilovolts needed to power the trains.
The installation of OCR infrastructure is underway within the two tunnels, and all surface OLE structures are now in place at Bayswater Junction and are well advanced at High Wycombe.
Construction of the 1,200-bay, three-level car park at High Wycombe is also completed.
The multi-deck design will improve station access for passengers and free up eight hectares of land for future development.
The station itself is also nearing completion, with finishing touches underway including landscaping, installation of seating, bike racks and signage, plus roadworks within the station precinct.
Attention is also turning to public art installations, which will include a 70-tonne tunnel-boring machine cutterhead, a 40 metre mural by Perth artist Fieldey and a series of sculptural artworks and storyboards by Noongar artist Maitland Hill.
All three new stations - High Wycombe, Airport Central and Redcliffe - are in the final fit-out stage, and will open when the line becomes operational in the first half of 2022.
As stated by Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, the Hon Paul Fletcher MP:
"Today marks a significant milestone in this major infrastructure project, which will provide an important transport link for commuters in eastern Perth and help ease congestion across the city more broadly.
"The Forrestfield-Airport Link project is one of many critical infrastructure projects to receive funding from the Morrison Government as part of its record $110 billion, 10-year infrastructure investment pipeline, which is helping to drive Australia's world-leading economic recovery."
As stated by WA Transport Minister, the Hon Rita Saffioti MLA:
"We have reached a major milestone on the METRONET Forrestfield-Airport Link with track laying now completed.
"I have watched this project develop from the beginning of tunnelling, to the start of track laying and now the completion of 16 kilometres of finished track.
"Amazing progress is also being made at the three new stations - including High Wycombe - which are all on the home stretch of construction.
"Our Government has eight METRONET projects currently under construction, with one project - the Bellevue Railcar Facility - recently completed."
As stated by Federal Member for Swan, the Hon Steve Irons MP:
"When complete, the Forrestfield-Airport Link will mean local residents can travel to Redcliffe, the Airport and Bayswater directly and vice versa, opening up new opportunities.
"The Morrison Government has a pipeline of work underway supporting local jobs and providing opportunities to local businesses."
As stated by State Member for Forrestfield, Stephen Price MLA:
"We're delivering improved transport connections throughout High Wycombe, with work underway on completing the Roe Highway and Kalamunda Road interchange, the Principal Shared Path along Roe Highway and finishing the Forrestfield-Airport Link.
"The High Wycombe Station, featuring a 1200-bay multi-storey car park and a number of locally-inspired public art pieces, will be a magnificent new gateway for our local area. My community is excited by this milestone as we look towards to the project completion."
