First rails are laid for Canberra light rail stage one

HomeNewsBlogFirst rails are laid for Canberra light rail stage one
tc fb rails 23 aug 17
Transport Canberra announces rail finally being laid

Since work began on light rail stage one along the Flemington Road and Northourne Avenue corridors, the installation of rail has been seen as a significant milestone. The contract between the ACT Government and Canberra Metro specified rails in the ground in July as a KPI. And they were.

Several test sections were laid in July, and as the workforce assembled for the construction has been building its skillset, the rails are due to be permanently installed from next month. The first images below are of the rails as they appear now, and largely as they will appear when service commences.

The last images are of the initial test sections, and show how they are laid and installed into the surface bed. The surface rust will disappear once light rail vehicles start running along the rails.

(Update with photos from this news article)

cm lr 1.jpg
The test track slabs for the light rail have been laid. From left, Mark Jones deputy project director, and Glenn Stockton Canberra Metro CEO, next to the epoxy compound that encases the rail to both secure the rail in the track slot and as part of the stray current management system. Photo: Jamila Toderas
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The epoxy compound both secures the rail in the track slot and helps to manage stray currents. Photo: Jamila Toderas

The following images were recently taken (Aug 2017) of the test sections.

test section.jpegtest section 4.jpegtest section 3.jpeg

test section 5.jpeg

test section 6.jpeg

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The following images were taken in July 2017 of the initial test sections.

early test section 6early test section 5early test section 4

early test section

early test section 3

early test section 2

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