Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) is the operator of the Melbourne metropolitan rail network.

PCI facilitated the establishment of an Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) arrangement to deliver track renewal and maintenance activities across Melbourne's urban rail network — a model rarely used in Australian rail construction at the time.

Getting to ECI was not a given. Stakeholders across MTM held genuinely competing views on the right contracting approach: some wanted the certainty of traditional risk transfer, while others recognised that the complex, interdependent nature of track renewal and maintenance work demanded a more collaborative model. PCI's first task was working closely with these stakeholders to build alignment on ECI as the right path forward, before any procurement activity could begin.

PCI's role:

• Worked closely with stakeholders across MTM to build alignment on ECI as the contracting model for track renewal and maintenance, reconciling competing views on risk transfer versus collaboration

• Designed the procurement process and supported drafting of the ECI contract

• Facilitated interactive workshops with proponents through the selection process

• Coached the Owner's team to participate effectively — a particular challenge given the team was drawn from different parts of the organisation with varying levels of interest and motivation in the process

• Supported the successful team through mobilisation.

Outcomes:

• All procurement timelines were achieved

• Successfully secured internal approval for the ECI model — no small feat given the competing views at the outset

• Having proven the model, MTM went on to use ECI again to engage the market and develop priced solutions for its High Capacity Signalling Project bid to the Victorian Government

• PCI supported MTM through this second application of the ECI model, extending its use beyond track renewal and maintenance into one of Melbourne's highest-profile rail technology programs