The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and South Australian company Liberty Primary Steel signed a AUD 292 million (USD 215 million) contract for the supply of more than 147,000 tonnes of high quality steel rail for Inland Rail project.The steel rail will be delivered for the Narrabri – Turrawan rail section and Southern Highlands project, including 110,000 tonnes for Inland Rail.
In 2017 Liberty Primary Steel was also awarded another contract to deliver 14,000 tonnes of steel rail to the site in Parkes for the first phase of the 1700 km Inland Rail.
The project between Narrabri and Turrawan in Northern New South Wales covers the upgrade of a 35 km section which will increase the capacity on the line and provide better access between the Inland Rail line and the Newcastle and Sydney Ports.
The upgrade of the track will see the replacement of existing steel and timber sleepers with heavy-duty concrete sleepers to allow longer trains with capability of 25 tonne axle load at 80 km/h to use the Narrabri to Turrawan rail line and improve connection with Inland Rail at Narrabri. The Australian Government is fully funding the ARTC to deliver the AUD 44.65 million (USD 32.86 million) project. Planning is underway for this project, with construction to commence this year and the completion is scheduled for mid-2023.
“This contract reinforces the investment in rail, including Inland Rail, which is supporting jobs and building efficient and strengthened supply chains for generations to come. Towns like Whyalla produce world-class products and we will be supplied with 147,000 tonnes of top-quality Australian made steel for the remainder of Australia’s transformational infrastructure project Inland Rail and to support ARTC’s operational requirements,” Mark Campbell, the CEO of ARTC said.
This contract with Liberty Primary Steel will support 1500 jobs in coming years, providing a major boost for the nation and the Whyalla region in particular in the fightback from the economic impacts of Covid-19.
The announcement made by the Australian Government follows the AUD 143 million (USD 105.2 million) contract signed with Austrak in February for the supply more than 1.3 million concrete sleepers for the Albury – Illabo section part of Inland Rail project. These contracts represent a AUD 435 million (USD 320.1 million) investment in Inland Rail network.
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