Flinders Street Station is among Australia’s and Melbourne’s most recognisable landmarks. The terminus was the first city railway station in Australia and is the best-known railway station in the country. Over the years, Flinders Street Station has become a famous Melbourne landmark, emerging as a symbol of Victoria’s capital city and is an institution in the daily routine of nearly a quarter of a million people.

This is why the reconstruction of dual tram tracks on the corners of Flinders and Swanston Streets was always going to be difficult. This project required the closure of Melbourne’s busiest intersection to enable the replacement of old worn tram tracks and roadway with new infrastructure including electrical conduits, cable pitts and crossovers. Timing was also critical and the job needed to be done fast. This work was crucial to ensure the safety and reliability of Melbourne’s train and tram network system that carries millions of commuters annually in Australia’s second biggest City.

Coleman Rail was formed in 2002 to undertake construction and maintenance contracting in light rail and related activities in Australia, South East Asia and New Zealand; with sub-contractors also employed to carry out demolition and construction work on all major projects. For this assignment, Coleman Rail was the major contractor employed to break out the old tram tracks and out-dated infrastructure, but due to the strict guidelines for Melbourne’s Tram and Road system, reconstruction work had to be carried out over an extremely stringent period of time. They also faced substantial fines if the project was not completed on time.

For this reason up to seven excavators and different contractors were employed to get the job done – and when they turned up, ALL were equipped with an Indeco Rock Breaker. With productivity crucial to getting the job done on time, all contractors were determined to set high standards and quickly set about breaking up the road and tracks. Casabene Excavations and Drainage were one of the major sub-contractor employed, and are also one of the largest Indeco customers in Australia. Located in the Western Suburbs of Victoria, Casabene’s run a fleet of twenty three Indeco Rock Breakers, ranging from HP 150 for small domestic work up to HP 7000 for deep trenching projects.  Pip Casabene formed a relationship with Indeco Australia in 1995 and has complimented his excavator fleet with Indeco Rock Breakers for drainage and excavation work in Melbourne ever since.

Working along side each other, each contractor compared notes on their Indeco breakers, but more importantly were successful in meeting the stringent deadline to complete one of the most vital projects the footsteps of Flinders street has seen.

One of the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the double-decker Airbus A380, has forced a major redevelopment of Melbourne’s Tullamarine airport. Melbourne has already spent $220 million and is spending another $330 million on upgrading its airstrips and terminals.

Although the Airbus, with its 30-metre-wide wheelbase, can operate on some standard 45-metre-wide runways, many runways around the world – including Melbourne’s – have had to be widened. In Melbourne’s case, the runway had been widened 15 metres – 7.5 metres each side – for a new total width of 60 metres. The widening was done as with accompanying work on the tarmac, taxiways and parking spaces for the aircraft, as well as a major expansion of terminal buildings to cope with increased traffic.

Armstrong Construction was one contractor employed for the removal and replacement of the tarmac. A civil engineering contractor since 1975, Armstrong’s specialise in all aspects of pipeline works: sewer, water, drainage and gas. For over 35 years, they have undertaken construction works for all major water companies, regional water and sewerage authorities, local government, statutory authorities, land developers and other private clients.

With a fleet of existing Indeco breakers, Armstrong’s quickly put their Indeco HP9000’s to work. While the tarmac proved no problem for the HP9000, the timing to complete the runway widening and breaking of new rock was once again significant. Impressed with their existing HP9000’S, Armstrong’s also decided to add a bigger HP12000 to their fleet. The project provided an unusual backdrop to the usual sites around Melbourne, but the main obstacle this time wasn’t the rock, but rather the heavy schedule of planes circling the surrounding runways.

As well as Indeco hammers, an Indeco IFP1250 Pulverizer was also used in the redevelopment and demolition of the terminal buildings, by contractors G and M Aldridge.  This was the first Indeco pulverizer purchased by Aldridge but has been working constantly since being contracted. Stage 1 of the terminal redevelopment is just one part of a five-year expansion plan for Melbourne Airport that represents one of the largest infrastructure investments undertaken in Victoria over that period, with approximately 1000 people employed in its construction.

The expansion plans represent the largest upgrade to Melbourne Airport’s facilities since it was built in the 1960s. With 27,450 tonnes of concrete, 2000 tonnes of steel, 20km of cabling, 15km of hydroponic heating pipes, 5900 square metres of tiling and 3800 square metres of glass being used in the expansion, the Indeco pulverizers and other equipment have been kept extremely busy but kept up to the high demand.