You may have noticed the huge 130 tonnes drill rigs in the rail corridor close to where Carlisle Station used to be…and you may be wondering what they’re for.

They’re on site for piling works – the critical process of drilling foundations (long poles made of steel or concrete) into the ground to distribute weight across a wider surface and support the 4.5km of elevated rail structures, stations and trains on the METRONET Victoria Park-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project.

Piling started early December following station demolitions in late November with the first piles being installed near Mint Street. A total of six piling drill rigs will appear on the project site from Victoria Park to Beckenham and will install 775 piles in total.

Piles will range in depth from 15m to 35m and three different piling methods will be used on the project - carefully chosen to accommodate the diverse ground composition and presence of different types of infrastructure along the line. 

Piling activities are scheduled from December 2023 to mid-2024 at locations crucial for building each viaduct structure, including near the five elevated stations and new shared path bridge over Welshpool Road. Find out more by reading the Piling Foundation Works fact sheet.