Craig W Taylor is a proud Wiradjuri man from the southern NSW border town of Albury. Craigs family is traditionally from the Narrandera/Darlington Point area of the southern Riverina. He took on the role with RPV as he saw this as an opportunity to create and build opportunity for Aboriginal women and men to enter the rail and civil construction industry.
Rail Projects Victoria (RPV), a project group of the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority, is delivering Victoria’s largest ever rail infrastructure pipeline, with more than $30 billion invested in metropolitan and regional rail projects. Some points that Craig and his team focus on are; • RPV is working to recruit more Aboriginal men and women into the construction industry, through the Aboriginal Talent Pool • The Aboriginal Talent Pool is a central register through which Aboriginal job-seekers can be contacted when work that fits their skills becomes available. • Work opportunities will range from office-based work, including HR, to construction roles with project partners in areas including concreting and scaffolding. • RPV is an inclusive, diverse workplace, which is aiming to increase its diversity and improve opportunities for Indigenous Australians. • RPV is working within the education system to encourage young Aboriginal people to consider a career in construction.
As an organisation, RPV is responsible for planning and development of project reference design, site investigations, stakeholder engagement, planning approvals and procurement, through to the construction delivery and project commissioning phases. Construction is underway on the Metro Tunnel which will untangle the City Loop so more trains can run more often across Melbourne. The Metro Tunnel will create a new end-to-end rail line from Sunbury in the west to Cranbourne/Pakenham in the south east, with bigger and better trains, next generation signalling technology and 5 new stations.
The Metro Tunnel will create capacity on the network to enable more than a half a million additional passengers per week across Melbourne’s train network to use the rail system during the peak periods. See the peak capacity increase for your train line. Melbourne Airport Rail services will also run through the Metro Tunnel to maximise access for all Victorians and provide passengers with an under-30-minute service from the airport to the CBD.
The Metro Tunnel is on track to be completed by 2025. Project scope • twin 9km rail tunnels from the west of the city to the south east as part of a new Sunbury to Cranbourne/Pakenham line • building 5 new underground stations: Arden, Parkville (under Grattan Street), State Library (at the northern end of Swanston Street), Town Hall (at the southern end of Swanston Street) and Anzac (under the Domain Interchange on St Kilda Road). The 2 stations under Swanston Street will be directly connected to the City Loop at Melbourne Central and Flinders Street stations • high Capacity Signalling to enable more frequent services • train/tram interchange between Anzac Station and the Domain Interchange • upgrades on other suburban rail lines with benefits across the network • safety features including platform screen doors.
Craig shares his journey. Prior to working for RPV, I worked in the NSW Department of Education as a School teacher, before moving into corporate education as a Senior Education Officer and Health and Safety Consultant, managing 70 schools across the southern Riverina. I am the Chair of Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service, a role I have held for 17 years, in this role I have played a significant role in expanding the operational capacity of health services for the Aboriginal people of Albury and Wodonga and surrounding areas. I am focused on ensuring Aboriginal people have access to culturally appropriate health services, with the goal of creating sustainable generational health outcomes. I am also a serving Director on the NSW government Aboriginal Housing Office Board, I have held this role since 2016, I have a strong background in risk management, strategic governance and planning with over 30 years working in government and non-government roles.