Southbank Tram Maintenance Depot Upgrade
Project summary
The Southbank Tram Maintenance depot upgrade project was part of a wider program to centralise tram maintenance to only two out of eight tram depots, the Preston
The existing Southbank Tram Maintenance depot required additional stabling and maintenance capacity to effectively house and undertake maintenance to its existing fleet of rolling stock and to cater for some of the needs of the proposed new rolling stock planned to arrive there. It was very crucial that Southbank Depot works were completed in advance of the arrival of the first new trams, as there was no availability to house them in other depots.
One of the biggest challenges the project team faced was that all works were to be carried out in a live environment.
This project has seen Public Transport Victoria partnering with Yarra Trams, to deliver the upgrades initiating the commencement of the delivery of the new rolling stock.
…what we did on this project
The Southbank Tram Maintenance depot upgrade was one of the first projects to be completed, which was funded by the Victorian Government’s $807.6m Tram Procurement Program.
This project presented numerous challenges to the project team given that all works required to be undertaken in a live environment with minimal impact on the existing operation activities in the depot.
A project construction strategy plan has been developed and agreed to capture all the requirements from internal and external stakeholders. As a result of the construction works, a number of tram vehicles, together with drivers required to temporarily be housed and operate from other depots creating a logistical challenge for the operation and maintenance departments.
The project scope included the following works:
- Extension of the existing maintenance building by 2000m2
- Construction of new 1000m2 mezzanine space to include offices, lunchrooms, toilets and meeting room
- Installation of 60,000 litres underground water tank
- Installation of automatic tram wash, under-floor wheel lathe, overhead maintenance working platforms and overhead cranes, including all safety switches and gantries
John Christou was the Program Manager for Yarra Trams who led and managed the delivery team. Under his leadership, the project was successfully completed on time and within budget.
The completion of the Southbank Maintenance Depot was a significant milestone for the Victorian Government’s $807.6m Tram Procurement Program, which laid the foundation for the partnership between Public Transport Victoria and Yarra Trams.
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