Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

Development of a successful whole-of-life cost solution for

Sydney’s North West Rail Link.
M.Frewer, G.Charlesworth
AECOM, Sydney, Australia.
A.Kuras
Parson Brinckerhoff, Sydney, Australia.
G. Bateman
TfNSW, Sydney, Australia.

ABSTRACT: The North West Rail is Australia’s biggest public transport infrastructure project and
includes 15.5km of twin running tunnels and eight new railway stations, five of which are below
ground. Solutions developed during the reference design have enabled a significant reduction in both
the extent of tunnels in the project, and the depth of underground stations. These amendments to the
business case design, along with the adoption of an undrained tunnel solution, have contributed to
significant improvements for the project including a better customer experience and reductions in
maintenance requirements. This paper outlines the approaches taken to capitalise on opportunities for
an optimum project outcome in regards to the tunnel form, the tunnel alignment and the design
interfaces for the delivery contracts.
1 INTRODUCTION

The North West Rail Link (NWRL) is an
$AUS 8.3 billion dollar project which is
currently under construction in Sydney,
Australia. When complete in 2019, the project
will connect Sydney’s North West growth
region to major business districts using
Sydney’s first rapid transit rail system. Among
other works, the project will deliver 23km of
new rail corridor, including 15.5km of twin tube
rail tunnels and 5 underground rail stations.
These will be the longest rail tunnels in
Australia.
Figure 1. Breakthrough of a Sydney Tunnel Boring
Machine (TBM) similar to the future NWRL TBM’s.
1
AECOM and Parsons Brinckerhoff have been
engaged as technical advisors to Transport for
New South Wales (TfNSW) for the planning,
design and construction of NWRL, including
the development of a reference design and
contract documentation for the three major
contracts required to deliver the project. Two of
the contracts involve the design and
construction (D&C) of major civil infrastructure
(tunnels, viaducts and surface structures), whilst
the third contract involves the design and
construction of the stations and rail systems,
provision of the rolling stock and operation of
the rail line under a Private Public Partnership
(PPP) contract. This procurement strategy was
adopted to comply with New South Wales
Government requirement to commence
tunnelling by late 2014 and to remove tunnel
construction risks from the PPP process.
The PPP contract will be awarded after the
commencement of construction for the two
D&C contracts. As such the project required
key design decisions to be made during the
reference design and captured in the contract
documentation to provide surety of delivery
across the contract interfaces, and to provide
confidence in the planning approvals process.
 Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
This paper discusses the approach taken
during the development of the reference design
and contract documentation to deliver a
successful whole of life cost solution for the
NWRL project. The paper focuses on three key
areas where this was achieved; specification of
the running tunnel form, capitalising on tunnel
alignment opportunities, and de-risking the
design interfaces between delivery contracts.
2 PROJECT SETTING
The NWRL alignment is located on an elevated
plateau in the north west of the Sydney basin.
The geology expected to be encountered along
the tunnel alignment comprises Ashfield Shale
overlying Hawkesbury Sandstone which are
sedimentary formations of Triassic origin. The
Ashfield Shale consists of thinly bedded shale,
siltstone and laminate with an intact unconfined
compressive strength (UCS) typically ranging
from less than 1 MPa in the upper weathered
zone to about 20 MPa in fresh shale. The
Hawkesbury Sandstone consists of thickly bed-
ded medium to coarse grained sandstone with an
intact UCS typically in the order of 20 to 40
MPa in fresh sandstone. Defects are typically
widely spaced in fresh shale and sandstone and
reduce in spacing with increased weathering and
the presence of geological features such as
dykes.
The groundwater chemistry in Sydney intro-
duces some interesting challenges to tunnel
maintenance and operation. The groundwater in
the Ashfield Shale aquifer is typically of medi-
um to high salinity, with elevated concentrations
of dissolved ferrous oxide. The high salinity of
this groundwater cannot be discharged to a
creek without some form of de-salination treat-
ment (typically reverse osmosis). The ground-
water quality in the underlying Hawkesbury
Sandstone aquifer is typically of low salinity,
acidic and contains a relatively high concentra-
tion of ferrous oxide. The groundwater in both
aquifers is considered to be corrosive to steel.
The dissolved ferrous oxide within the
groundwater creates a specific problem within
Sydney tunnels. This compound reacts to form
ferric oxide when exposed to air at the rock
face, which when combined with groundwater
2
with a pH above 5 produces ferric hydroxide
deposits in the form of a gelatinous, iron stained
sludge similar to that pictured in Figure 2. This
reaction occurs naturally and cannot be con-
trolled or stopped. The problem is a function of
the groundwater chemistry, and the scale of the
problem is a function of the amount of ground-
water inflow into the tunnels.
Figure 2. Iron sludge deposited in the drainage channel of
an existing Sydney rail tunnel
A further biological reaction occurs when
particular “iron eating” bacteria are also present
in the groundwater. The bacteria produce an en-
zyme that catalyzes the conversion of ferrous
oxide to ferric oxide which releases a small
amount of energy to ”feed” the bacteria. This
biological process accelerates the production of
the gelatinous sludge that is made “sticky” by
bacteria themselves. In addition to the produc-
tion of iron sludge, the bacteria also creates an
environment that is conducive to the production
of hydrogen sulphides as by-products. This re-
sults in a corrosive environment with bad
odours prevalent. The production of bacteria can
be controlled to some extent by chemical dosing
with chlorine.
The iron sludge produced by these reactions
commonly blocks drainage and pumping sys-
tems in tunnels, therefore requiring regular
cleaning by manual methods or high pressure
jetting in conjunction with dosing with a chemi-
cal such as potassium oxalate.
 Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
Recorded groundwater inflows into drained
rail and road tunnels in Sydney are typically in
the order of 0.5 to 1.0 l/s/km of tunnel.
3 TUNNELS
Key decisions for the running tunnel
specification were made during the reference
design phase to inform the planning approvals
process. These decisions were also made to
provide surety in delivery and risk mitigation
across the three interfacing contracts. They
concerned tunnel configuration and form,
groundwater control requirements, and the
space proofing of the running tunnels.
Safety was a key consideration from the start
and formed a guide to the strategy from the
outset. An early safety in design review
concluded that a key risk in tunnelling
operations would be "rock fall" and that this
could be eliminated through the use of TBM
with segmental lining. The strategy was
developed around considering a So Far As Is
Reasonably Practical (SFAIRP) argument that
TBM tunnelling should be used wherever
reasonable and practical. All options noted
below were considered in the light of this
argument.
3.1 Tunnel configuration and form
Several tunnel configuration options were
compared and assessed during the reference
design. These broadly assumed either bored,
circular TBM excavation profiles or mined,
horse-shoe/flat roof sequential excavation
profiles. These were measured in terms of their
whole-of-life cost benefits and their ability to
meet project requirements. A qualitative
comparison was also completed that considered
the compatibility of each option with the
proposed station arrangements, geotechnical and
construction risk, fire and life safety and
ventilation, environmental impacts and
operational and maintenance requirements.
A twin tube (two adjacent, single track
tunnels) running tunnel configuration shown in
Figure 3 below was eventually selected based
on the results of both the comparative cost and
qualitative assessments. Furthermore, this
configuration is consistent with the existing
ECRL tunnel configuration, which the new
tunnels connect to. The existing tunnels will
3
form part of the broader NWRL, and it was a
condition of the emergency services to provide a
consistent approach to fire life safety throughout
the system wherever reasonably practicable.
Other configuration options that were
considered included the following:
 Single tube (single, twin track tunnel
with internal fire separation wall)
 Single tube-stacked (single, twin track
tunnel with internal fire separation
slab)
 Triple tube (two, single track tunnels
with an additional services tunnel)
Figure 3. NWRL running tunnels and cross passage
Tunnel space proofing for the twin tube running
tunnel configuration revealed that a circular
profile with an internal diameter of 6m
(excluding construction tolerances) was optimal
to accommodate the train structure gauge, rail
systems and services, emergency egress
walkways, and other necessary infrastructure.
The other tunnel forms considered, such as
the horse-shoe profiles, were found to be more
suited to drained tunnel options excavated in
poor quality rock. Flat roof profiles were, again,
found to be more suited to drained conditions
but where the main tunnelling medium was
competent sandstone. These profiles were
assessed in respect of their ability to introduce
efficiencies to the running tunnel cross sectional
area in comparison to a circular profile. Once a
circular profile was decided upon the further
question as to whether the tunnels should be
drained or undrained required consideration.
3.2 Drained or undrained tunnels
The decision to adopt a ‘drained’ (inclusion of a
tunnel groundwater pressure relief system) or
‘undrained/tanked’ (incorporation of
waterproofing to prevent water inflow) tunnel
system is a key decision which can influence the
construction method, operational environment
and maintenance requirements for the project.
 Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
For many projects this decision is driven by
external constraints such as a requirement to
limit changes to the existing groundwater
regime that can cause consolidation of overlying
soils. In the majority of locations within the
Sydney Basin, overlying soils are comparatively
thin and incompressible and so in most cases the
risks associated with groundwater table
drawdown are minor. The main risks associated
with the construction of drained tunnels within
the Sydney Basin concerns the management of
the groundwater that travels into the tunnels
during their operation. Historically this
groundwater has been found to be corrosive and
the cause of iron sludge deposits within the
tunnel drainage systems. For this reason drained
tunnels in Sydney can be susceptible to the
accelerated deterioration of some internal tunnel
components, necessitating relatively frequent
treatment or early replacement. Also the
management of iron sludge deposition requires
frequent treatment/management of tunnel
drainage and pumping systems. In both cases,
these risks translate into increased whole of life
costs for the project.
The main advantage of drained tunnel
solutions is that the resulting support structure
can be designed to have reduced structural
capacity as compared with the undrained
alternative. This can offer reduced lining
thickness and reduced excavation cross section.
In addition, drained tunnel solutions reduce the
need for waterproofing/management activities
which can have a significant impact on both
construction cost and program. An important
consideration for any drained tunnel solution is
that a robust and easily accessible and
maintainable groundwater pressure relief system
is required.
In broad terms, the main advantages of tanked
tunnel solutions are that there is limited
environmental impact to local groundwater
regimes and operational requirements/costs are
reduced in terms of the management of the
quantity of groundwater entering the tunnel
system.
3.2.1 Capital cost assessment
A comparative capital cost assessment was
completed for drained and tanked tunnel
options. This assessment incorporated the
project requirement for provision of a tunnel
lining to which the PPP Contractor can fix rail
systems. This requirement meant that a concrete
tunnel lining with a minimum thickness of
4
150mm was required irrespective of the whether
the tunnel was designed to be drained or
undrained. The main options considered are as
follows:
Drained options:
 TBM (main beam) and roadheader
driven tunnels both of which include
an allowance for temporary pattern
rockbolt support and a permanent cast
in-situ concrete linings (nominally
200mm in thickness)
Undrained options:
 TBM (single/double shielded) driven
tunnels with a 275 mm thick precast
steel fibre reinforced concrete
segmental lining; and
 TBM (main beam) and roadheader
driven tunnels both of which include
an allowance for temporary pattern
rockbolt support and a permanent cast
in-situ concrete lining (nominally
200mm to 300mm in thickness).
Advance rates and casting rates adopted in
costings were based largely on past experience
of tunnel construction within Sydney as sourced
from specialist constructability advisors.
Importantly the rates were assessed for their
sensitivity on the costs.
The outcome of this assessment revealed that
a tanked TBM (double shielded) option was
likely to be the most cost effective solution in
terms of capital costs, with a drained TBM
(main beam) option being the second least
expensive approach. A key differentiator
between these two options was the efficiency in
tunnel production for the tanked, single pass
segmental lining (as built behind the double
shielded TBM) when compared with a double
pass, drained tunnel lining system that is built
some distance behind the main beam TBM. The
latter option required the installation of
temporary support followed by drainage layer
and final cast in place lining. In addition, it was
found that the lining thickness required to resist
groundwater pressure for an undrained running
tunnel with a circular profile and small cross
sectional area was only marginally greater than
that required for the drained alternative.
Generally, given the long length of the tunnel
alignment and the large distances between
construction access points, the roadheader
constructed options were assessed to be less
efficient for the NWRL project in comparison to
TBM options given their significantly slower
rates of advance
 Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
3.2.2 Operational cost assessment
In addition to the capital cost comparison, an
assessment was completed to determine the
direct operational costs that would be incurred
to collect, convey and treat groundwater inflow
resulting from drained tunnel options. These
costs were assessed to be significant and
supported the decision to adopt an undrained
tunnel solution.
The operational cost assessment did not allow
for the indirect costs associated with potential
problems from reduced asset lives and increased
maintenance requirements which commonly
arise from the corrosive groundwater chemistry
and iron oxide sludge deposition within drained
tunnels in Sydney. Several operators of drained
road, rail and utility tunnels within Sydney were
consulted for feedback on the performance of
tunnel assets and fixtures and the maintenance
issues associated with groundwater ingress and
drainage and pumping systems. This feedback
indicated that in most cases steel assets of low
to medium grade or low durability protection
(such as galvanized steel) experience high rates
of corrosion when exposed to groundwater. In
addition, some pumping systems needed
frequent maintenance and replacement, whilst
some drainage systems (including groundwater
pressure relief systems) experienced frequent
iron sludge blockages affecting drainage
channels, sumps and treatment plants. Of
particular concern to drained rail tunnels in
Sydney is the durability of overhead wiring
systems and the steel rail tracks. These rail
components cannot be easily protected or
treated for corrosion if exposed to groundwater.
Drained road, rail and utility tunnels in
Sydney have now been operational for 15 years
(with some rail tunnels being older) so good
asset management information is available. This
information has enabled a better understanding
of appropriate M&E specification,
waterproofing and drainage design requirements
and maintenance needs to adequately address
the above issues. It is considered that by
applying these lessons at the design stage,
drained tunnels of the future which are assessed
to offer reasonable capital cost savings can be
maintained at relatively modest operational
costs.
In the case of NWRL, a tanked TBM driven
tunnel solution was assessed to have the least
capital and operational costs, even without
consideration of the potential durability and
maintenance issues associated with drained
5
tunnels discussed above. The main benefits that
this option has over other drained solutions can
be summarized as follows:
 Protection of railway infrastructure,
fixtures and equipment on the inside
from corrosion;
 Assistance with long term durability of
structures;
 Provides a clean and dry environment
for maintenance within the tunnels;
 Removes the risk of having to deal
with any potentially contaminated
water; and
 Removes the need to deal with iron
sludge.
3.3 Tunnel Specification
To ensure certainty in achieving the project
objectives and securing the optimum whole-of-
life cost solutions for the project, the tunnel
configuration/form and water control
requirements were mandated in the contract
documentation. A circular running tunnel
profile with a 6 m diameter clear opening, and a
concrete lining capable of meeting groundwater
seepage limits of 2 ml/hr per m2 of concrete
lining and 5 ml/hr per m2 over any 10 m length
of the lining was specified in the NWRL
contract documentation.
4 ALIGNMENT
4.1 Capitalising on opportunities
The original rail alignment adopted for the
NWRL business case was a product of previous
studies conducted over a decade ago. The
designs were based on the conventional
approach of open face excavations supported by
rock bolts and sprayed concrete temporary
support and cast in situ permanent support. The
use of TBM and segmental lining provided the
opportunity to adjust the original alignment and
capitalise on potential cost savings. In addition,
significant improvements to customer
experience and operational performance were
achieved; Raising the vertical alignment would
result in shallower stations and reduced tunnel
extents.
The final NWRL alignment that emerged
from this value engineering process offered new
and improved station locations, removal of all
cavern stations, removal of approximately 2.5
 Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
km of twin tube rail tunnels, as well as
significant reductions in the depths of all
underground stations.
Shallower station depths achieved by this
alignment allowed changes to station type.
Cavern stations could now become cut and
cover stations, whilst cut and cover stations
could become open cut stations. The average
station depth reduction was in the order of 5-10
m. In addition to significant savings in capital
expenditure as a result of reduced station
excavation and support requirements, the
reduced station depths offered opportunity for
improved customer experience by reducing
surface to platform travel times and also
reduced the maintenance and operational
demands associated with long escalators and
deep passenger lifts. In particular, the transition
to an open cut station at Cherrybrook Station
introduced natural daylight about half way
along the underground section of the commuters
journey. This was considered to be particularly
important given that the full journey along this
new and existing Epping to Chatswood Rail
Line (ECRL) which connects to the NWRL will
be 25 km or 30 minutes. Thus the introduction
of this break will improve customer experience.
Previous sections of running tunnel are to be
replaced with viaducts to overcome flood plain
constraints within the rail corridor. The
introduction of this form of surface construction
in preference to underground excavation offered
better customer outcomes including increasing
the daylight journey for customers. The
potential planning impacts associated with the
viaduct were carefully considered and mitigated
as far as possible such that the rail corridor
would integrate with the adjacent arterial road
corridor and surrounding environment.
Additional benefits included the reduction in
construction risk and maintenance requirements.
The final NWRL alignment which
incorporated these alignment changes facilitated
the provision of two additional stations along
the rail line, as well as opening further
opportunities for improved facilities at rail
station and improved rail systems infrastructure.
4.2 Assessing the issues and opportunities
The key focus when assessing the proposed
alignment modifications was the evaluation of
any construction issues that were introduced as
a result of shallower cover to the running
tunnels. These issues included:
6
 Closer proximity to existing
infrastructure which could result in
higher levels of noise and vibration
impacts during operation; and
 Ground movements due to reduced
ground cover which are required to
comply with the legal requirements
imposed by the Minister for Planning.
Empirical and computational analyses were
undertaken to predict the effects of tunnel
induced ground movements based on the
interpreted ground conditions. These analyses
were work-shopped by members of the project
from the design, construction and operation
teams and included planning specialists. The
purpose of these sessions was to assess the
likelihood that the successful contractor could
reasonably be expected to comply with the
Minister's requirements. In cases where this was
deemed to be unreasonable, the proposed
alignment change was abandoned. Additional
information in the form of more detailed and
focused geotechnical investigations,
topographic field surveys and building
inspections were also devised to support the
assessments. The most significant areas
considered with respect to the final NWRL
alignment included:
 ECRL – Close proximity tunnelling
(approximately one tunnel diameter)
was required beneath existing ECRL
rail tunnels and dive structures.
Opportunities to maximise the
clearance to these structures to within
the limitations of the rail track
geometry and reduce the risk were
taken wherever possible. A typical
section of this interface is shown in
Figure 4.
 Building foundations - Close
proximity tunnelling to two building
structures were required as part of the
final NWRL alignment. One building
was founded on deep piles of
unconfirmed depth, and the other was
observed to show signs of potential
structural distress during a structural
inspection. Additional surveys and
geotechnical investigations were
undertaken to increase the confidence
in the foundation levels and the
ground conditions. It was considered
both reasonable and feasible that the
compliance with ground movement
requirements could be achieved by
 Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.
the tunnel contractor by a
combination of instrumentation and
monitoring, and if required ground
improvement completed ahead of the
tunnel face.
 Shallow cover to creek beds – Low
cover tunnelling beneath two creek
beds was required as part of the
NWRL alignment. Several options
were considered to mitigate the
construction issues. These ranged
from varying the assumed tunnelling
methodology to suit the ground
conditions (ie. either closed or open
TBM), with some sections assumed
to employ sequential excavation
methods in combination with robust
passive support, to diverting creeks or
improving ground conditions
(including rock reinforcement from
the surface). It was considered
unlikely that measures beyond ground
treatment and instrumentation and
monitoring would be necessary,
however options were available to
enable the tunnel contractor to
manage the risk effectively to suit the
construction risk profile.
 Shallow cover at some station
headwalls – Low cover in the order of
half a tunnel diameter were required
at the two open cut station headwalls
as a result of the NWRL alignment.
In both cases, additional geotechnical
investigations and computational
analyses were completed to better
understand the impacts of ground
movements and face stability.
Reasonable and feasible construction
methods were identified to address
the construction issues and achieve
compliance with requirements.
Figure 4. Model of the NWRL running tunnels crossing
beneath the existing ECRL dive structures. Section taken
at the location of a cross passage.
7
Operating the rail link as part of a modern,
automated single deck train rapid transit system
introduced further opportunities to adjust the
alignment. This includes an allowance to
increase the vertical track gradient from 3% to
4.5% over short track lengths.
5 INTERFACE MANAGEMENT
The management of design interfaces between
the three delivery contracts was identified as
critical to achieving a successful outcome for
the project. For the tunnel contractor, the main
design interfaces were with the PPP Contractor
who would undertake the tunnel fitout and
station construction.
The projects delivery program did not
facilitate sufficient overlap between contracts to
enable the tunnel contractor to have an
extensive design interface with the PPP
Contractor who will be the end operator of the
rail line. In the absence of this interface,
TfNSW established a shadow operator within
the NWRL project team who functioned to
inform the reference design and the
management of these interfaces. Key decisions
which were made to mitigate the risk at the
tunnel design interfaces with the PPP
Contractors works included:
 Mandating the tunnel alignment to
ensure compatibility with the track
alignment and rolling stock
requirements established during the
reference design;
 Mandating the tunnel profiles to
ensure adequate space was provided
for the train, rail systems and safety
requirements;
 Mandating the tunnel groundwater
inflow criteria to ensure consistency
with the optimum whole of life
strategy for the project and the
discharge and treatment constraints
for the project;
 Mandating the imposed loadings and
performance requirements (including
blast, fire and impact criteria) for the
tunnel lining to ensure sufficient
capacity for installation of the
required rail systems and other
infrastructure to deliver a safe and
efficient rail line;
 Proceedings of the World Tunnel Congress 2014 – Tunnels for a better Life. Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil.

6 CONCLUSIONS

The approach taken on the NWRL project to

capture opportunities identified in the reference
design and translate these into contract
requirements has facilitated a successful whole-
of-life cost solution. The specification of
undrained, twin tube running tunnels will
deliver a safe, easily maintainable asset at a
lower capital cost and significantly lower
operational cost as compared with drained
alternatives. The tunnel alignment capitalised on
reduced tunnel lengths and station depths,
contributing to improved customer experience.
Finally, an appreciation of risk has resulted in
measures being introduced to ‘de-risk’ the
project’s contract interfaces. These have
increased the surety of delivery for the project,
as well as the safety and performance of the rail
line.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The writers would like to acknowledge

Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW) and
North West Rail Link (NWRL) Project for
permission to publish this paper.