INLAND RAIL has completed the first of 12 projects in Victoria.
The first project involved lowering the track under a bridge in Barnawartha North, on the Victorian border near Albury, to allow double-stacked freight trains to pass under the highway.
Initially there was not enough clearance under the Murray Valley Highway bridge for the double-stacked freight trains.
Inland Rail and construction partner McConnell Dowell in 2022 began work to lower the track by about 1.4 metres.
Workers dug up 400 metres of track and removed five Olympic-sized swimming pools worth of soil. They reinforced bridge foundations installed drainage and constructed levee banks.
Project teams also deposited 6000 tonnes of rock ballast and laid 800 new concrete sleepers and 800 metres of rail.
Ed Walker, ARTC Victoria and South Australian general manager projects said the construction team worked tirelessly to complete the job and the focus is now moving to the remaining sites.
“One down, eleven to go in Victoria,” he said.
“Once completed each double stacked 1.8km train will remove the equivalent of 110 B-Doubles from our cities and highways.
“Moving freight on rail is not only safer but will significantly reduce our carbon emissions.”
Tom Foley, McConnell Dowell’s Inland Rail project manager, said the first project was an important milestone for the Beveridge to Albury section of the Inland Rail and has been years in the making.
“It’s a real thrill to be involved in a nation building project such as this and to deliver these works safely and on time for ARTC,” he said.
“This particular site provided many challenges to both McConnell Dowell and ARTC and to have it safely completed allows both teams to concentrate on the remaining sites in the second half of our construction program.”
