It’s not every day you get up close and personal to a $253 million rail infrastructure project and rub shoulders with the ‘who’s who’ of WA rail infrastructure. 

So, when eight vacation students from the Public Transport Authority’s (PTA) Vacation Student Program embarked on a site tour of METRONET’s New Bayswater Station Project, they were counting their lucky stars.

With inquisitive minds and eager attitudes at the ready, the students visited the site in December 2021 to learn more about rail construction and engineering, gain the real-life skills employers are looking for and make the most of the competitive edge the much sought-after program offers participants.

New Bayswater Station Project Delivery Manager (and tour guide extraordinaire) Jonathan Shuker hosted the site visit, describing it as a great example of the Bayswater project’s commitment to capacity building and education.

“This was an ideal opportunity to show engineering students a real-life example of the work available to them in Perth when they graduate, and to round out their academic experience with the application of practical skills,” Jonathan said.

For the students, the tour was a chance to learn new skills and see how they are applied at an actual construction site.

“It was really interesting to see the project’s full scope and scale and get an understanding of how it integrates with surrounding businesses, the community and environment,” 19-year-old University of Western Australia Civil Engineering student Jake Vidovich said.

For 23-year-old Curtin University Civil Engineering and Finance student Ocean Anand, the highlight was working alongside experienced professionals and being mentored.

“It was a great experience learning from engineering and construction professionals and gaining an insight into the practical day to day tasks and responsibilities they have and the role they play in big-scale projects like the Bayswater Station,” Ocean said.

METRONET’s support for the PTA Vacation Student Program links to our Sustainability Strategy, and our commitment to capacity building and employment opportunities on all METRONET projects. The new Bayswater Station project will become a key precinct with the Midland Line, Forrestfield-Airport Link and Morley-Ellenbrook Line connections, giving people the option to travel to the Airport, Swan Valley tourist region, and the CBD and beyond.