Sydney Light rail

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Sydney Morning Herald --> Why Sydney's new light rail trams won't carry passengers on inner west line

Different standards for Sydney's inner west light rail line and a new $2.1 billion line from the central city to the south east mean trams carrying passengers won't be able to switch between the two.

The standards differ on a range of measures including gaps between platforms and carriages, height and width of the actual track, clearances between the track corridor and its surrounds, and distance between the back wheels of the trams.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says that a lot of businesses along the new light rail route are already experiencing more pedestrian traffic because of the road closures.

The lack of "interoperability" between the two lines will limit the ability to introduce new routes across a broader network, such as one from Randwick to Pyrmont.

Trams running on the 12.8-kilometre inner west line, for example, will not be able to carry passengers the entire way from Dulwich Hill to Moore Park for large sporting events. Instead, passengers will have to switch to trams on the new line at Central Station.

Tram expert and former ministerial adviser Greg Sutherland said the differences had occurred because Transport for NSW had gone to the market for the new light rail project before drawing up the same standards for all light rail lines.

"They are limiting themselves because they have applied different standards. The one standard should apply to every light rail track in Sydney," he said.

While the trams for the new line will be able to run on the inner west tracks to a maintenance depot at Lilyfield, Mr Sutherland said they could not carry passengers on the latter because of the different standards such as gaps between platforms and carriages.

"They are completely stopping their ability to make better use of light rail technology in the future because they haven't developed appropriate standards," he said.

Mr Sutherland said the differences between the two lines in Sydney was in contrast to Australia's original tramways early last century, which had the same standards across Sydney, Newcastle, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.

"Transport for NSW never drew up a set of standards to apply to the new light rail trams in Sydney," he said.

"They should have embraced the Victorian standard and made it an Australian standard. If you bought a toaster it has to be run on a standard voltage. The same thing should apply to any infrastructure."

But Transport for NSW said operating the new line as a "linked but independent network allowed us to procure the best light rail vehicles and build the line with the most up-to-date advancements".

"This is also best suited to the route conditions and service levels of the new network, without constraints from existing light rail infrastructure," it said.

The transport authority said passengers would be able to "easily interchange" between the two light rail lines at stops at Chinatown-Capitol Theatre and Central Station.

The 67-metre long trams destined to run on the new line would carry up to 450 people, giving initial capacity to move up to 13,500 commuters an hour during peak periods, it said.

Mehreen Faruqi, the Greens' transport spokeswoman who has a PhD in engineering, said the inner west light rail line was already suffering from overcrowding and to " further limit integration and flexibility on the same mode of transport defies all logic".

"While other nations have achieved interoperability between different rail systems such as high speed and conventional rail, or light rail and trams, this government is going out of its way to make sure that even the few kilometres of light rail we have in Sydney are not compatible with each other," she said.

Dr Faruqi said the government had failed to learn from the historical short-sightedness of different rail gauge systems in Australia.

Transport for NSW declined to say what standards would be used for its multi-billion-dollar Parramatta light rail project, which construction is due to start on in 2018.

[SurfRail]

Who cares.  This silly Australian need to be able to run every train to every part of the network is what leads to most of the problems we see everywhere, where we end up with lines that try to be all things to all people and fail at each of them.  Pakenham doesn't need the same trains as Sandringham.  Varsity Lakes doesn't need the same trains as Ferny Grove.  Bondi Junction doesn't need the same trains as Port Kembla.  In each case, these maxims have been completely ignored for decades.

The 2 lines have very different demand profiles.  The IWLR problems can be fixed by buying more trams and improving the terminus arrangements at the Dulwich Hill end.  CSELR isn't going to have capacity to slot services from the IWLR in between the existing 2 patterns, because the extra room is needed for growth (once they bring RMS to heel and introduce proper priority signalling for the trams to enable better headways than 1 tram every 4 minutes).

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https://twitter.com/MySydney/status/890507064128286720

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Sydney Morning Herald --> Extra tram services to help ease crowding on Sydney's inner west light rail


Crowding has been deteriorating during peak periods on the light rail. Photo: Michael Vesic

An extra 95 weekly services will run on Sydney's inner west light rail line from next Monday as the state government considers buying more trams to help ease crowding in carriages and on station platforms during peak periods.

Patronage has soared since a 5.6-kilometre extension of the line to Dulwich Hill in the inner west was opened three years ago, resulting in an increase in overcrowding on services.

The latest increase in services mean that trams will run every eight minutes on the weekdays between 7am and 8am instead of every 10 minutes. They are already operating every eight minutes at the "core peak time" of 8am to 9am.

So-called inter-peak services on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday will also run more frequently. Those between 10am and 2pm will be every 13 minutes, instead of every 15 minutes, and those between 2pm and 3pm every 12 minutes (changed from 15 minutes).

The latest government data shows almost 10 million trips have been made on the inner west light rail line in the past 12 months. In contrast, the line carried about 4 million passengers a year before it was extended in early 2014.

Transport Minster Andrew Constance said the extra services were in response to customer concerns about crowding during morning and evening peak periods.

"We are currently working on how to best cater for current and future demand for light rail in the inner west," he said.

"Options being considered to further increase services include buying more trams, upgrading infrastructure, and using the existing fleet to insert extra services on parts of the line where the demand is highest."

The increase in capacity will also result in services between 10am and 3pm on Wednesdays running every 12 minutes – instead of every 15 minutes – to cater for greater demand for travel to shows at the Lyric and Capitol theatres.

An extra 30 services will be put on the line on Saturdays, resulting in trams running every 10 minutes between 11am and 5pm (previously 15 minutes) and every 12 minutes between 5pm and 7pm (up from 15 minutes).

Mr Constance said demand from commuters for light rail services had exceeded "all expectations", citing a near 60 per cent increase in journeys between 2013 and 2015.

Early last year an extra 90 services were put on to boost frequency on the 12.8-kilometre line during peak periods, and afternoon peak extended by an hour to 7pm.

ALTRAC, a consortium building a $2.1 billion light rail line from Circular Quay to Randwick and Kensington in the city's south east, operates the inner west light.

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https://twitter.com/MySydney/status/935011579145392128

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https://twitter.com/TransportforNSW/status/937825495944634368

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https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/938090401273036800

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Daily Telegraph --> What you need to know about the Sydney light rail — it's running late

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https://twitter.com/Alstom/status/968039743194791937

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Sydney Morning Herald --> Sydney's light rail comes with heavy legal bill

The state government has spent as much on external lawyers for the inner Sydney light rail project as it spent on lawyers for the health, education and industry departments last year combined.

Figures obtained by the opposition show the external legal bill for the 14-kilometre tram line from Circular Quay to Randwick and Kensington has climbed past $15 million so far – amounting to 0.72 per cent of the $2.1 billion cost of the project.

That figure is well below the $73 million the government has already spent on external lawyers for the Sydney Metro rail project. But the external legal costs of Sydney Metro are said to constitute only 0.36 per cent of the total cost of the metro project.

A section of the CBD light rail project on George Street in November, 2017

The size of the legal bill for the light rail line – amid a difficult relationship between the state government and consortium delivering the line, ALTRAC – was criticised by the opposition, which calls the tram line a "vanity project."

"Had it done the proper planning for WestConnex and the CBD light rail, then it wouldn't have needed top-end-of-town lawyers to fix up its mess," shadow infrastructure minister Michael Daley said.

"This is money that could have been spent on teachers, nurses and our essential public services instead of top-end-of-town lawyers."

The acting transport and infrastructure minister, Melinda Pavey, said:

"With a record $80.1 billon infrastructure program over four years it is essential the NSW government has a strong legal framework in place.

"Labor wouldn't understand the complexities that come with building such transformational infrastructure as all they managed to do in 16 years of government is build half a rail line and announce projects that they could never deliver."

For the state's major law firms, transport and infrastructure projects form the major source of revenue from the state government's legal services panel.

In the 2016-17 financial year, the government spent almost $78 million on legal panel billings for transport and infrastructure.

The next largest amount of spending on external lawyers was by the Health Department ($8 million), followed by Premier and Cabinet ($6.9 billion), Justice ($6.5 million) and Planning and Environment ($6.1 million).

The light rail project, scheduled to open early next year, has been dogged by delays during construction, but has nevertheless impressed many with its potential to transform travel through the inner city.

The government has advertised the fact the contract with the ALTRAC consortium – which includes firms Transdev, Alstom, Acciona and Capella Capital – provides the possibility for penalties should ALTRAC fail to complete works on time.

However, there would also be provisions for claims by ALTRAC against the government; for instance, for failing to specify designs in time.

When she was transport minister, Premier Gladys Berejiklian first said the light rail line would cost $1.6 billion, before signing a contract worth $2.1 billion.

When she signed that contract, she said there was a chance the project could come in under budget.

"If everything we think happens to schedule and as we expect, the project will come in substantially under budget," she said in 2014.

This now appears unlikely.

Labor supported the light rail project prior to the 2015 state election but subsequently said it was opposed to the route down George Street.

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The Australian --> New $1.2bn blowout for NSW light-rail project

Australia's biggest light-rail ­project, from Sydney's CBD to the eastern suburbs, is in disarray amid demands from its Spanish subcontractors for an extra $1.2 billion and NSW ­government accusations of a construction go-slow that could delay completion beyond next year.

The demand from ­Acciona — made through its lawyers and on top of a $500 million blowout ­already agreed to by the state government — threatens to more than double the original $1.6bn cost of the project linking the city to Randwick.

The latest demand sparked a furious response from NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance and is headed for a showdown in the NSW Supreme Court next Friday. Acciona's lawyers claim the government misled the contractor on how many utility lines would have to be moved ­during construction and the complexity of the work.

The NSW government is furious over reports Acciona has gone on a go-slow, with about 100 ­people working on the project each day when several hundred should be doing so. As many workers are being deployed daily on the 12km track as are being ­deployed on the 2.7km light-rail line being built in Newcastle.

State governments around the nation have embarked on a wave of urban transport projects, including the $11bn Melbourne Metro project, Brisbane's $5.4bn Cross River Rail and Canberra's light-rail line.

Government sources yesterday suggested the stoush could cause a delay in the project, particularly if the dispute sent the consortium building the line into administration. Work in the CBD has crippled traders on ­George Street and disrupted traffic to ­venues such as the SCG and Randwick racecourse.

For the week ending March 22, a progress report showed the project moved only 0.4 per cent forward. This compared with ­periods last year when 3 to 5 per cent of the project was being built each week.

Only half the civil construction has been finished, several months after the total project was due to be completed.

The light rail is a signature project for NSW Premier Gladys ­Berejiklian, who announced it as transport minister.

The NSW government is also embarking on other major transport infrastructure projects, including the Sydney Metro North West, the Sydney Metro City and Southwest, and the Parramatta Light Rail.

Acciona, which reports to a private-sector consortium known as ALTRAC, sent a letter to Transport for NSW on February 22, warning of Supreme Court ­action over their demand.

The letter, ­obtained by The Weekend Australian, says: "In ­addition to the sum claimed in the commercial list statement by way of loss and damage, our client also maintains it is entitled to interest on the sum of $101m, bringing the total sum sought by our client to $1.206bn. We await your prompt response. Please note that if we have not received your client's reply within 21 days of the date of this letter, we are instructed to finalise and file the Commercial List Statement and commence proceedings against TfNSW without further notice."

In response, on March 22, Mr Constance wrote: "As I have previously advised you in our face-to-face meetings, the NSW government is very unhappy with your performance in relation to the construction of the Sydney Light Rail project.

"I have no doubt that Sydney's residents and businesses are also incredibly frustrated. I recently described NSW as an unhappy customer — let me make it clear we're now an angry customer.

"As you know, the Sydney Light Rail Project is being delivered under a public-private partnership model where Transport for NSW has contracted the ­ALTRAC Light Rail Partnership to build and operate the project.

"ALTRAC has in turn engaged Acciona to design and build the civil construction aspects of the project. Therefore there is no contract between Transport for NSW and Acciona, nor indeed between it and the state of NSW."

Mr Constance said any issues Acciona had should be raised with ALTRAC. "You will also be aware that the contract between Transport for NSW and ALTRAC, and in turn the contract between ­ALTRAC and Acciona, spells out how the risks of dealing with utilities for the construction of the light rail are to be managed.

"Acciona negotiated and ­accepted these provisions and has since made use of them. I was therefore shocked and dismayed to be informed that Acciona ... has threatened legal proceedings against Transport for NSW, based on allegations that Transport for NSW made misrepresentations to Acciona about the utilities in the lead-up to the signing of the contracts in December 2014. We have always said this is a complex project and both ­Acciona and ­ALTRAC knew this when they signed up."

A spokeswoman for ALTRAC said last night: "The matter before the NSW Supreme Court does not involve ALTRAC Light Rail. It was filed by Acciona outside the contract and as such is for the parties involved to comment on.

"ALTRAC Light Rail is ­focused on construction of the city and southeast light rail and delivering this important piece of infrastructure for the NSW state government."

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9 News --> Sydney light rail contract could be 'bought out' by state government as project stalls

The construction contract for Sydney's much maligned CBD-South East Light Rail could be "bought out" by the NSW government in an attempt to get the project back on track.

9NEWS has learned modelling has been completed by NSW Treasury to calculate how much it would cost to refinance the public private partnership and force the civil contractor out.

Senior government sources fear Acciona, a Spanish civil construction company, is running out of money.

The Treasury modelling was ordered as an option for government in case Acciona falls into administration or walks away from the job.

The Spanish company has been accused of staging a "go-slow", delaying construction on George Street and Devonshire Street at Surry Hills as a deliberate tactic to force the state government to hand over more money.

Acciona has lodged a claim of $1.2 billion in compensation against Transport for NSW in the Supreme Court.

It's understood the company will argue they were deliberately misled on the scale of the utilities underneath George Street, and the plans for the 12km route from Circular Quay to Kingsford and Randwick have changed in excess of 100 times.

Senior sources say the refinancing option is one of "many options" on the table.

Given the government is essentially ripping up a contract, the move would be very costly and cause the project to be delayed further.

But if Acciona walks away, the government wouldn't have a choice.

"We are not going to be held to ransom," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

"All sorts of threats were made about bad headlines, I don't care. You have a job to do, do the job."

9NEWS has also learned Transport Minister Andrew Constance is considering forcing Acciona out of Devonshire Street at Surry Hills to focus their efforts on George Street.

Mr Constance would open the stretch from Chalmers Street at Central Station to Crown Street to foot traffic and parking so businesses don't suffer unnecessarily.

Richard Campbell owns Eloura Lifestyle and Spa on the corner of Devonshire and Crown Streets at Surry Hills.

He insists the disruption has put strain on dozens of businesses in the area and the personal impact has been devastating.

"We've lost 40 percent over the past year-and-a-half," Mr Campbell said.

"Just get the damn thing done."

The project is now woefully late.

All major civil construction work was scheduled to finish at the start of this year, with the light rail to open to passengers by March 2019. At the current rate of work, it's unlikely to be open until the end of 2020.

The original contract was supposed to have 12 months of tram testing and driver training along the entire route.That deadline has now passed.

"It has become a complete farce," Opposition Leader Luke Foley said.

"It's shambolic and we are on track for this to be the most costly light rail ever built anywhere in the world."

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Sydney Morning Herald --> $1b compo payment limits government's options in light-rail stoush

The state government faces termination payments of more than $1 billion if it decides to sack the consortium charged with delivering Sydney's troubled light-rail project.

The government is hamstrung in its ability to fire Acciona, the Spanish contractor constructing the line from the CBD to the city's south-east, because the $2.1 billion contract to build and operate the light rail is with ALTRAC, a consortium of four companies.

While the laying of tracks has been completed in nine of 31 zones, civil construction has yet to be finished in any of the zones along the entire 12-kilometre route, highlighting the extent to which the project has become a debacle.

The original schedule was for all of the major civil construction, which includes poles and footpaths, to be finished this month.

Martin Locke, an adjunct professor at Sydney University and a former investment banker and infrastructure adviser, said one of the government's options would be to terminate the contract with ALTRAC but he warned the cost of that could be in excess of $1 billion.

And it would take six to 12 months to terminate the contract because of its complexity.

The government would then be forced to find another construction company, which would be in the box seat to demand a hefty premium to complete the work and dictate onerous conditions.

"The government is really in a bit of a corner at the moment. The government cannot require Acciona to be terminated – that is a decision by ALTRAC," he said.

"The government's actions are heavily constrained by the potential termination scenarios and the consequences of termination as set out in the contracts."

Transport for NSW declined to reveal what the termination payments would amount to if the contract was scrapped, citing "commercial in confidence".

The dire state of the Berejiklian government's signature project has been laid bare in a legal stoush with Acciona, which will have its first hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday.

The relationship has soured amid allegations by Transport Minister Andrew Constance of poor work and counter claims from Acciona that his remarks are "not supported by objective facts".

The Spanish construction giant is suing Transport for NSW for $1.2 billion in loss and damages for "misleading and deceptive conduct".

Acciona, which has other government projects in NSW, such as work on upgrading the Pacific Highway, alleges the lead transport agency made misrepresentations about underground utilities in the lead up to signing contracts in 2014.

The difficulty mapping and shifting utility cables and pits under George Street in the CBD and in Surry Hills has been repeatedly cited as the main reason for delays to the project.

The slanging match between the two sides has also revealed that the government has little idea of when Acciona will complete construction of the line.

In a letter to Acciona on March 22, Mr Constance attacked the contractor's "unwillingness to provide a meaningful timeline for completing your part of the project".

He has also taken aim at the contractor for ongoing concerns about the "poor quality" of its work, "numerous site safety incidents", and an "ever-dwindling numbers of workers".

Despite the project's delays and cost blow-outs, the City of Sydney remains committed to making further payments towards the light-rail line. So far, the council has handed over about $115 million of the $220 million it agreed to contribute towards the project.

A spokesman for Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the council had worked with Transport for NSW and the ALTRAC consortium to "hold the state to their commitments on the project".

ALTRAC - a consortium of Transdev, Alstom, Acciona and Capella Capital - said it had been upfront about work in many construction zones taking longer than expected because of unknown utilities.

And Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged people on Thursday to look at the project in its entirety, noting that some stages of the project, such as along Anzac Parade, were ahead of schedule.

"That's why we want to make sure we will deliver the project in a timely way and we are getting on with the job," she said.

A final contract summary for the project outlines Transport for NSW's rights to terminate the project deed, which includes failure to achieve completion by a "longstop date".

The contract summary indicates that ALTRAC is required to do its best to achieve completion by March 16, 2019, and that a termination event is triggered if ALTRAC fails to achieve completion within two years of that date.

Mr Locke said that implied the state government had to sit on its hands until March 2021, provided ALTRAC was still proceeding to diligently build the light rail.

And he said ALTRAC would be reluctant to be in a hurry to terminate Acciona until all options had been explored.

The consortium had a vested interest in supporting Acciona's claim against the government for additional costs under the project contract. Acciona has a 5 per cent equity stake in ALTRAC.

"If the project is in difficulty, it is up to ALTRAC in the first instance to identify alternative potential remedies and ALTRAC's debt and equity parties have a strong financial incentive to try to find a solution to avoid the prospect of capital write-offs," he said.

The other equity investors in ALTRAC are First State Super with a 62.5 per cent stake and British investor John Laing (32.5 per cent).

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Sydney Morning Herald --> Spanish builder claims state failed to reveal full facts on light rail

In numbers

    How much Acciona has spent so far
    $1.07b

    How much Acciona expects to spend before the line is complete
    $679m

The Spanish company building Sydney's $2.1 billion light rail line has accused the state government of misleading conduct in failing to reveal that it had not secured the agreement of power company Ausgrid on how crucial cables under the route should be handled.

The NSW opposition has called for an explanation after the company building Sydney's light rail filed legal action against the state, accusing the government of "misleading or deceptive conduct".

Acciona's $1.2 billion claim for costs and damages against the state threatens to trigger a political nightmare for the Berejiklian government and further delay completion of a light rail line which had originally been promised early next year.

In documents filed in the NSW Supreme Court, the Spanish conglomerate accused Transport for NSW of engaging in "misleading or deceptive conduct" in the lead up to it signing a contract to design and build the 12-kilometre light rail line.

The light rail line from Sydney's CBD to the south east is still far from completed, more than two years after construction began.

Acciona said it would not have signed the contract if it had known that Ausgrid had not in fact accepted a plan to deal with its electricity cables and pits beneath the route of the line, which includes George Street in Sydney's CBD.

That piled on significant additional cost to deliver the project, raised the risk of major delays and had "significant financial and reputation consequences" for Acciona.

So far, the project has cost Acciona $1.07 billion and it expects to burn through another $679 million before construction of the line is completed. It also estimates $175 million in overheads and management costs and potential liquidated damages of up to $147 million.

The company expects to receive $966 million from the state for the project, leaving its losses at $1.1 billion.

The state government has repeatedly declined to say when the line will be finished, and last month Transport Minister Andrew Constance accused the contractor of being unwilling to provide a "meaningful timeline" for completion of the project.

Well before construction started in 2015 on the line from Circular Quay to Randwick and Kensington in the city's south east, underground utility cables for electricity, gas and water services beneath the route had been expected to be one of the project's major challenges.

Acciona said it sought to negotiate with Transport for NSW during the bidding process in 2014 for a "satisfactory contractual mechanism" for how utility services beneath the streets would be dealt with during construction, and a plan was eventually agreed.

During those negotiations, Acciona claims Transport for NSW led it to believe that Ausgrid – which it was prevented from communicating with – had reviewed and accepted the handling of its utility services as set out in the plan.

However, the company claims that Ausgrid "had not in fact accepted the treatments for its services" set out in the plan.

Acciona became aware that the electricity company did not accept them only hours after financial close of the construction contract on February 27, 2015.

As it later turned out, the guidelines from Ausgrid over how its utilities should be handled "diverged to a significant degree" from the plan Acciona had with Transport for NSW. It meant 106 Ausgrid utilities were in "clear conflict", while a further 927 were "unclear".

On Friday, Mr Constance described Acciona's $1.2 billion claim as "simply outrageous", and said the government would "fight it hard in the courts".

"There is one message to the Spanish contractor – do your job. They have to stop their go-slow, get back to work and make sure they get on with the job," he said.

The legal tussle has prompted Labor leader Luke Foley to step up his attacks on the government, claiming a project that was originally expected to cost $1.6 billion was now on a course to cost taxpayers $3 billion.

"We are now facing years of uncertainty. The centre of the city looks like a war zone and there's just no end in sight. Businesses are going broke," he said. "The Premier has to deliver a plan – she's led us into this mess."

Ms Berejiklian said this week that NSW would "not be held to ransom" by the Spanish contractors.

The case will return to the Supreme Court for a directions hearing on May 25.

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Daily Telegraph --> Sydney Light Rail disaster: Contractor tells workers to slow down

SYDNEY'S light rail will be a full year late.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal the consortium delivering the bungled project has ­advised the government trams will not be operational until March 2020 — a full year after the intended delivery date and a year after the state election.

It comes as workers from the project are contacting government officials to dob in Spanish contractor Acciona for its "go-slow" on the light rail holding Sydney hostage.

Workers are contacting government officials to dob in constractor Acciona for "go slow" orders.

"We were constantly asked to slow down our works," one has told the government, and there was a claim of "constant delays on mat­erial and equipment deliberately done by our supervisors".

Transport Minister Andrew Constance is continuing to ­insist the private sector consortium delivers the light rail project in 2019, as per its contract.

The Daily Telegraph has obtained a sensitive NSW government briefing note which informs Mr Constance that the consortium ALTRAC had pushed the light rail's operation date to 2020. The briefing note reveals Transport for NSW initially pushed back, telling the consortium it needed to do more to shorten the delay.

However Transport for NSW eventually conceded to the timeline and passed the news on to the ­furious minister.

One proposal to shorten the delay is to begin testing the new trams as construction continues, rather than after.

Currently there are two brand-new shiny trams sitting in a stabling yard at Randwick. They were always intended to arrive early for testing.

It is understood French company Alstom has built most of the 60 trams, and will ship them to Sydney by September.

"ALTRAC and Acciona need to meet the requirements of the contract, and the NSW government will not be held to ransom," Mr Constance said.

Acciona is locked in a legal battle with the state government, claiming it engaged in "misleading and deceptive conduct" by withholding information about underground electricity infrastructure.

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Sydney Morning Herald --> Spanish contractor vows to finish Sydney's light rail project

The Spanish contractor building Sydney's light rail line insists it will still complete the troubled project despite its $1.1 billion lawsuit against the state government, and claims the company is on a "go slow".

In an internal memo to senior managers marked "private and confidential", the company, Acciona, refutes suggestions it is to blame for delays or a blowout in the cost of the 12-kilometre line from Circular Quay to Randwick and Kensington in the city's south east.

For some Sydney businesses and workers, it's been a nightmare on George Street and now the light rail project itself is in danger of stopping.

Acciona last week launched legal action against Transport for NSW for "misleading or deceptive conduct" in the lead-up to it signing a contract in 2014 to design and build the line.

It claims the transport agency led it to believe power company Ausgrid had agreed to a plan to deal with utilities under the route of the line when it had not.

Work on underground utilities at the intersection of Bridge and George streets in the CBD will have taken 57 weekends once completed, instead of six.

In the memo, seen by the Herald, Acciona cites the intersection of George and Bridge streets in the CBD as an example of work it was required to perform on underground utilities taking far longer to complete than was specified in the construction contract.

Under the contract, a "relatively small amount of work" on utilities at the intersection was supposed to have taken about six weekends to complete.

But Acciona says the actual requirements from the utility company, after the contract had been signed, meant it had to undertake a full reconstruction of utilities at the intersection. When completed, this will have taken 57 weekends over two-and-a-half years, the memo says.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance has been scathing of Acciona, and on Friday demanded  the contractor stop "their go slow [and] get back to work".

But Acciona's memo to senior managers says the company is working "diligently on the project" and was committed to completing it. The memo does not reveal when construction will be completed.

While the laying of tracks has been completed in nine of 31 zones, civil construction has yet to be finished in any of the zones along the entire route.

Under the original schedule, all major civil construction, which includes poles and footpaths, was due to be finished this month.

Acciona says in the memo that it has tried over the past two years to "negotiate an outcome relating to the cost and time impacts" from changes to the scope of the light rail project. It also has had to carry out work on underground services that was "in addition to that which we were required to do".

The company's internal memo says it had been "left with no choice" but to pursue legal action in the NSW Supreme Court because Transport for NSW was unwilling to mediate.

The government has also attacked Acciona for ongoing concerns about the "poor quality" of its work, "numerous site safety incidents", and an "ever-dwindling numbers of workers".

But Acciona says in the memo that its workforce on the project has been "relatively constant" at about 260,000 hours over the past six months, which equated to 1400 full-time workers.

And the memo says the project's lost-time injury frequency rate was below one, which compared with an industry average of more than eight.

A spokesman for Transport for NSW said Acciona and the ALTRAC consortium awarded the overall contract to design, build and operate the light rail line "must perform their respective contractual obligation despite this dispute".

"Transport for NSW expects that ALTRAC will ensure that its contractors have an adequate number of workers on site to progress the works to meet its contractual obligations," he said.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/993886932361920517

[ozbob]

Daily Telegraph --> Spanish construction company Acciona laying out light rail track at 'go slow' rate

THE Spanish light rail contractors holding Sydney to ransom have suddenly sped up work at key sites — but are still laying just half the amount of track needed to meet their own delayed 2020 deadline.

The Daily Telegraph has learnt Acciona, the construction company the government believes to be on a "go slow'', has laid 490m of light rail track in the past fortnight. It is understood the current work rate well outstrips the pace at which slabs were being laid at the start of this year, including one week where no track at all was laid.

But the government believes the contractor needs to lay about 2000m of track a month to meet its deadline and is still critically behind.

Asked about a go-slow on the worksites, Minister ­­And­rew Constance said last night: "Acciona are clearly still stuffing around the ­taxpayer.

"Other contractors across the state are able to get on with the job they are paid to do. I expect these guys to do the same."

But in a statement, a spokeswoman for light rail consortium Altrac said to expect faster progress in areas such as Surry Hills, the CBD, Randwick and Kensington in coming months.

She said that in all construction zones, work teams were delayed by relocating utilities and that now "most of the utilities works are completed".

"As we have said publicly there was never a go slow and work has been progressing along the alignment," the spokeswoman said.

Acciona has taken the state government to court seeking $1.1 billion claiming it was misled on underground utilities. The light rail's original completion date of 2019 has been pushed back to 2020. The government privately believes work has stepped up at key sites because of media attention that has been drawn to ­Acciona's slow tactics on the work site.

[ozbob]

Weekend Australian --> Acciona seeks $200m over dam, five power station moves

The Spanish contractor in dispute with the NSW government over the Sydney CBD light rail project is demanding more than $200 million for the construction of a dam near Centennial Park which it says led to delays in the project.

In a Yes Minister-type situation, the contractor, Acciona, is also claiming funds for having to change five times where an electricity substation was to be built — after negotiations repeatedly fell down with the government and the Centennial Park and Moore Park Trust.

The substation is now located next to the Moore Park golf course across from the light rail on Anzac Parade in Kensington.

But hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent designing each possible site, sources have told The Weekend Australian, including across the road and down the street. At one point the site nominated as the second alternative was later nominated for the fourth alternative, before that site too was dumped.

Acciona has had to tunnel underground to connect the substation to the light rail. Originally the light rail was supposed to be on the same side of the road as Randwick Racecourse but the racing industry lobbied for it to be moved.

It was agreed a dam would have to be built at a cost of $30m on the Centennial Park side to manage water flow. But that cost blew out and Acciona is expected to claim that because of delays the dam caused to the entire project it is owed $200m-$300m. Yet another variation to the project was the decision made after discussions with local authorities to base an electrical substation under High Cross Park in Randwick. The Australian revealed in April that Acciona, which is part of the ALTRAC consortium building the $2.1 billion project, was claiming $1.2bn from the government ­because of cost blowouts.

The firm is claiming "deceptive and misleading conduct" by the government in relation to the project because it says Transport For NSW did not do enough to reveal the cost of removing electricity utilities from under city roads and replacing them. The government accuses the contractor of a "go-slow" and says the project completion date is ­likely to be 12-18 months late, now pushed out to 2020. NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has said the government will not be "held to ransom" by the contractor.

The government accuses the contractor of inflating the cost of so-called "variations" to the project, which stretches from the CBD to the eastern suburb of Randwick and southeastern suburb of Kingsford. Government sources also pointed out the issue with the dam and substation had no bearing on the fact Acciona was still working on George Street when that work should have been completed.

The Australian revealed yesterday that the cost of dumping ­Acciona and starting anew on the Sydney CBD light rail project would be more than $1.5bn.

A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said the Light Rail contract included the movement of the light rail alignment on Alison Road from the racecourse side to the Centennial park side of the road. There were significant claims regarding the Alison Road dam that Transport disputed. The Moore Park substation was moved once on agreement with Centennial and Moore Park Trust. Five different locations were investigated and the most suitable location was chosen and agreed by all parties.

[#Metro]

Perth had excellent outcomes because TransPerth knew what they wanted, and had strong project control. This too was shown with Perth's smart rider card, costing just a fraction of what Myki in Melbourne cost and being able to pay for parking too.

[verbatim9]

Great Video on the Current Sydney Light Rail Network.



^^I would love Brisbane to have something like this

[Cazza]

I agree it would be great for light rail in Brisbane due to it's efficiency and capacity but I just don't see the feasibility in it. With a complete bus network review and overhaul, in addition to more bus priority measures across the region, I don't see how light rail will do anything that our bus, busway and rail network can't do.

This video shows a drivers view if anyone's interested.

[ozbob]

Daily Telegraph --> Walls of orange plastic bring extra expense as light rail project hastens apace

CLOSE to 10,000 plastic bollards a day are being hired out at an exorbitant rate to line the route of the delayed and over budget light rail project.

Sources have revealed the barriers are being hired at an estimated cost of up to $150,000 a week, draining the project of cash every day they are in place.

"Where possible they should pull the barriers down," Transport Minister Andrew Constance said.

"They need to be accountable for that. Just to ease the pressure on pedestrians and businesses, and their own finances."

The government has been giving rent assistance to businesses affected by the construction­.

The Daily Telegraph can also reveal work on the project has sped up, with more track laid in May than at any time in the past year.

A spokeswoman for the project consortium ­Altrac said the total track slab laid as at June 7 was 19.3km, with just under 5km of track left to be laid.

Mr Constance said the project was "starting to shape up" after months of government pressure over an alleged go-slow campaign by Spanish firm Acciona.

The Altrac spokeswoman attributed the faster pace to most of the costly and time-consuming utilities work being completed.

The government believes the public pressure and reputational risk felt by Acciona has led to the faster work pace.

There were some weeks earlier this year when no track was laid.

"We've had well over 2000m of track slab laid in the past month, which shows a propensity for (the builder) to deliver quickly," Mr Constance said.

"There's nothing stopping them from punching this away and getting those barriers down."

A spokeswoman for Altrac said that "arrangements for equipment purchase or hire are commercial and the details are confidential".

The spokeswoman said "once civil construction is substantially complete" there will be "opportunity to reduce the barriers progressively across the zones".

The government is pushing for barriers to be removed when work is not being completed. "Get out of the way of the people, that's the message," Mr Constance said.

[ozbob]

Daily Telegraph --> Berejiklian Government has written proof light rail builder Acciona was warned of potential problems

THE Berejiklian government says it has written proof the Spanish contractors holding the light rail project to ransom were warned of potential problems facing the project.

The Daily Telegraph has obtained a copy of the state government's 40-page response to light rail builder Acciona's $1.1 billion lawsuit against it.

It reveals a crucial part of Transport for NSW's argument will rest on the claim Acciona was given specific documents about the cables and wires underneath the route which Acciona says caused huge delays.

Acciona filed its lawsuit against Transport for NSW in April, claiming it had engaged in "misleading or deceptive" conduct and "induced" Acciona to sign the contract to build the $2.1 billion light rail on false information.

Acciona said it only signed the contract because it falsely believed Ausgrid had accepted its plan to deal with its electricity cables and pits beneath the route.

But the government is arguing Acciona knew this was not the case and even had its legal representatives "specifically negotiate" a clause which said Acciona could be given extra time and money if plans for utilities were "materially different".

Transport goes on to say a month after Acciona claims it became aware of the "Ausgrid Guidelines" it signed an agreement referring to its obligation to comply.

"It's only now ... when Acciona will be liable to pay substantial sums by the way of liquidated damages if it is late in completing its works ... that Acciona brings these proceedings," the Transport for NSW document states.

The agency also says Acciona was given access to an electronic "data room" before signing the contract where it was able to access documents to help it understand "issues and challenges".

And Transport arranged workshops where potential contractors — including Acciona — were able to speak to Ausgrid.

"At all times prior to Acciona entering into the D&C Contract, it was known to parties that a significant issues for light projects generally, including this project was the management and treatment of existing utility services along the route," Transports document states.

Earlier this year The Daily Telegraph revealed Acciona's history of legal battles against governments and that it had also been involved in behind-schedule projects in Canada and Spain.

[ozbob]

Daily Telegraph --> About 900 small businesses caught up in construction zone report losses

MORE than 100 businesses around the light rail construction zone are up for lease as the much-delayed project causes financial hardship and depression.

Shop owners along the 12km track say the work has been so disruptive it's led to combined losses of at least $155 million.

On and around the route, The Saturday Telegraph found 115 retail properties ­advertised for lease. This included 59 in the Surry Hills construction zone, 17 in Randwick, 19 in Haymarket, 11 at The Rocks and nine in Kensington and Kingsford.

The claims come as The Saturday Telegraph reveals businesses given state government rent relief have been forced to sign confidentiality contracts stating they will not say what they've received.

Transport NSW says it has given $6.95 million in financial support to 69 affected businesses since last August, but businesses say the program needs to be expanded to include those affected but not directly facing construction.

Small Business Party founder Angela Vithoulkas has collected data from about 900 businesses near the route, all reporting a loss of earnings.

Of the 900, 89 per cent said they were experiencing physical or mental health issues and 91 per cent had heavily reduced access due to the construction work. The combined loss of earnings reported was $155 million.

Ms Vithoulkas, who is preparing to launch a class action against the government over the light rail, said she knew of at least 49 businesses that had shut down in the past year.

She said her own city cafe had experienced earning ­declines of up to 50 per cent.

Popular Surry Hills restaurant The Devonshire closed last December, with its owners blaming the move on the "severe impact on trade" from "the extensive light rail works on Devonshire Street".

In submissions to the NSW parliamentary inquiry into light rail, business owners describe financial losses of more than $1 million, depression and even suicidal thoughts.

One submission tells of "severe migraines due to constant financial pressure", while another blames a near-marital breakdown on "the financial strain that has been the Sydney light rail project".

Transport Minister Andrew Constance encouraged businesses to contact Transport for help and conceded businesses were under "enormous strain".

Amelia Birch lost her Devonshire St business The Book Kitchen in May 2017.

"A lot of businesses who have closed feel ashamed and don't want to talk about it," Ms Birch said.

Richard Campbell said he was debating whether to relocate his Eloura Lifestyle Salon from Crown St.

"From the minute the construction bollards turned up we started losing customers," he said.