Newbury Daylilies

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Newbury
  • Slough
  • Wokingham
  • Maidenhead
  • Banking

Newbury Daylilies

Header Banner

Newbury Daylilies

  • Home
  • Newbury
  • Slough
  • Wokingham
  • Maidenhead
  • Banking
Newbury
Home›Newbury›Delay of a fire safety contractor in the Vic tunnel

Delay of a fire safety contractor in the Vic tunnel

By Lisa Scuderi
November 10, 2021
0
0

A new venture to complete “urgent” fire safety work in Melbourne’s underground rail loop has yet to be found, three years after the original contractor’s bankruptcy.

ASX-listed RCR Tomlinson had been hired to install large smoke extraction systems and sprinkler upgrades at three underground stations, but the company went bankrupt in 2018.

Transportation department officials said at a hearing on public accounts and estimates on Wednesday that they had yet to name anyone to complete the job.

As early as 2012, an Ombudsman investigation found that fire safety in the loop needed urgent improvements, potentially putting thousands of passengers at risk in the event of a fire.

But department secretary Paul Younis said $ 40 million to $ 50 million had already been spent to improve loop security since that time and reassured the audience that the Melbourne loop is safe.

“Security is essential, we will not operate or maintain or manage a dangerous system,” he said.

Brighton MP James Newbury questioned the timing of the work, which is expected to be completed in 2023, five years after RCR Tomlinson’s closure.

“It’s a long time for what I would have thought was serious, serious safety work… urgent work I would have thought,” he said.

Prior to its liquidation, RCR Tomlinson had installed CCTV systems, fire hydrants and intrusion detection systems.

Over the past 18 months, the ministry has taken its own records of the actual work being done by RCR Tomlinson and re-launched the development process with a contractor who was already working on the crossing project.

The general manager of the crossing removal project, Kevin Devlin, told the hearing the ministry hopes to recommend a new contractor by the end of 2021 or early 2022.

He said the ministry hoped security upgrades would be completed by 2023, but warned it had to fit the work into its schedule.

“It’s basically a very important event and when we do this work we will have to come full circle for a while, so we are looking at a significant disruption,” he said.

The hearing was also told that taxpayers may have to compensate the contractor who operates and maintains the Southern Cross station.

The claim concerns cleaning and maintenance costs, as the number of commuters using the station has plummeted during COVID-19 closures.

Mr Younis said the ministry was reviewing the request, but had not yet determined how much it might cost.

Mr Newbury also asked department officials about figures showing that fines on road cameras in Victoria rose 27% year over year, despite a sharp drop in traffic during closures.

Related posts:

  1. Newbury plaque honoring the first man to be treated with penicillin
  2. Sierra Canyon freshman Mackenly Randolph makes her presence felt
  3. It’s the end of the pandemic as we know it: the HUB
  4. Newbury man charged in crash that injured passengers | Local News

Recent Posts

  • NH man accused of fondling on freeway apologizes to victim | News
  • Indonesian sailors find £66million worth of cocaine floating at sea
  • Compensation nearly doubles following housing complaints in Wokingham
  • Valley News – Oxbow voters to decide school budget
  • Fuel poverty rates among the lowest in England before the energy crisis

Archives

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • March 2021

Categories

  • Banking
  • Maidenhead
  • Newbury
  • Slough
  • Wokingham
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy