Designing for the long haul: Flemington East Junction Remodelling project
At a glance
Flemington East is a critical junction within the Sydney rail network, connecting the Main Suburban, Flemington Goods and Homebush Bay Lines, as well as the Flemington Car Sidings (FCS). When the junction’s existing infrastructure reached the end of its operational life, Sydney Trains engaged GHD to help deliver a comprehensive renewal of the junction to meet current and future operational demands.
In partnership with Sydney Trains, the team developed a new layout that simplifies operations, enhances safety and reduces maintenance complexity for years to come.
The challenge
Flemington East is one of the most constrained and complex junctions in Sydney’s rail network. Its ageing infrastructure made maintenance increasingly difficult, while operational pressures continued to grow. Sydney Trains needed a solution that would address immediate performance and reliability issues while supporting longer-term network goals.
Designing a revised junction layout meant balancing technical, spatial and operational constraints, all while engaging with a wide range of stakeholders whose day-to-day work would be directly affected by the changes.
Our response
GHD applied a systems engineering-led approach to redefine the junction. The team facilitated a deeply collaborative engagement process, gathering insights from more than 60 stakeholders across Sydney Trains and Transport for NSW to derive operational needs. These insights were instrumental in informing both business and system-level requirements and addressing operational realities from the outset. This early and inclusive collaboration also reduced complexity for future renewals and upgrades.
The project team developed several track layout options, each evaluated through multi-criteria analysis, considering safety, constructability, maintainability, cost, access and operational flexibility.
Early identification of interface and access risks further guided the design. One major uncertainty involved future operations at the Flemington Car Sidings, particularly the potential need to accommodate longer trains. To avoid overdesign or capability gaps, the team held targeted stakeholder focus groups to confirm actual needs, resulting in a final layout that reflected realistic operational priorities and avoided unnecessary scope.
Whole-of-life thinking also influenced the design. Decisions such as limiting long bearers to support no more than two pieces of special trackwork simplified future disassembly and minimised disruption during renewal works.
The final preferred design introduced shorter mainline routes, greater spacing between turnouts and more efficient special trackwork arrangements. These changes reduced the need for complex configurations, resulting in improved performance, clearer possession planning and simplified future maintenance.
The impact
The Flemington East Junction Remodelling project has delivered clearer train paths, reduced maintenance demands and improved operational reliability across a critical section of Sydney’s rail network. It stands as a model of how integrating systems engineering, smart risk management and deep stakeholder engagement can deliver future-ready rail infrastructure, even in the most complex settings.
Recognised for its innovation and impact, the project received the award for Top Design Project under $1M at the Permanent Way Institution – New South Wales (PWI-NSW) Awards.
These outcomes were explored in a technical paper by GHD’s Lauren Fraser, presented at the Conference on Railway Excellence (CORE) 2025. More than a technical deep dive, the paper is a story of innovation, collaboration and the vital role engineering plays in building the cities of tomorrow.
The highlight was using a requirements-led approach and connecting with over 60 people from across Sydney Trains and Transport for NSW, each sharing their stakeholder needs and experience with a genuine desire to improve the junction’s infrastructure and operations. That generosity of insight made this project what it is.”