The West Australian government is purchasing hundreds of new analogue radios and extending their use to new Metronet rail lines despite the technology likely being redundant within just two years when a new digital network is switched on.
The Public Transport Authority last week released a tender calling for the design, construction and commissioning of an analogue radio system for security and train control covering 36 kilometres of the new Yanchep and Morley to Ellenbrook rail lines. The cost to taxpayers won’t be known until the tender is awarded later this year.
WA’s Public Transport Authority is shelling out for 450 analogue Motorola handsets, despite the technology likely being redundant within years.
A separate PTA tender recently closed for about 450 new Motorola analogue handheld radios, which retail for more than $1600 each, to be used by rail staff ahead of the digital network going live.
In that tender, the PTA said the analogue radio network was “beyond its end of life” but would have to be maintained for several years until the network is digitised.
“Delays incurred in respect of the [radio systems replacement] project have forced the PTA to consider and plan a program of work to improve its analogue radio network until it is decommissioned and replaced with a new digital radio network in approximately 2025,” the tender said.
Opposition Metronet spokesman Tjorn Sibma blasted the government for needing to issue these tenders in the first place, labelling the situation another example of poor planning and management of the Metronet program.
“All these small sorts of things you could attribute as a rounding error, unfortunately, all these little pebbles add to a mountain of enormous expense,” he said.
“This was completely avoidable, but they have to do it to get the trains to run and to run safely.
“It’s just another piece of evidence to indicate that Metronet was poorly managed from the outset and the earlier mistakes are now washing through the system.”
Extending the old analogue technology to the new lines would not have been necessary had the WA government’s planned digitisation of its train communications network finished in 2021, as originally intended.
But the project has been beset with major delays thanks to a decision in September 2020 to axe the controversial $206 million original contract with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei amidst global security concerns over its technology.
It wasn’t until August 2022 that Nokia was selected as Huawei’s replacement under a $327 million contract that won’t be completed until 2025.
According to the most recent public statements by the WA government, the Yanchep line is expected to be completed by the end of 2023 and operational sometime next year while the Morley-Ellenbrook line is expected to be operational by late 2024.
The infrastructure tender said the Yanchep line work needed to be done before the end of this year while the Morley-Ellenbrook line network needed to be completed by March next year.
PTA’s tender warned prospective contractors that delays in the installation of the analogue network could delay openings of the entire lines.
“All long lead time equipment is to be purchased early to not delay openings due to analogue radio requirements,” the tender said.
It also called for unpriced options for the installation of analogue technology along the Thornlie to Cockburn link and Byford Rail Extensions.
The inclusion of these projects, both of which were expected to open in 2025, suggests PTA is planning for the network’s digitisation not to be completed by the time the lines are ready for passengers.
Transport Minister Rita Saffioti’s office deferred to answers from a Metronet spokeswoman, who said they could not provide an expected cost of the project because the tender was still live.
“The development of a new radio system is a complex process and is managed to ensure the operational railway is always safe for use by staff and patrons,” she said.
“The testing and delivery of the new Metronet extensions to Yanchep and Ellenbrook is scheduled to be completed prior to the rollout of the new digital radio system and installation of the existing system, to enable the commissioning of these projects, is factored into their respective project budgets.
“The new digital radio system is expected to enter service in phases from 2025.”
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