Major track upgrades have been completed on the Echuca Line between Epsom and the new Goornong Station which allows passenger trains to travel from 80km/h up to 130km/h. The works have been completed by John Holland under a contract signed in August 2021.
“Bringing regional communities together is a key priority for the Government and these track upgrades help to achieve this objective. The track upgrades mean faster and better services for passengers, while creating jobs and providing a much-needed boost to the regional economy,” the Australian Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Barnaby Joyce said.
The team has installed 20,000 new concrete sleepers and 50,000 tonnes of ballast along the line and performed major track formation and reconstruction works at 20 sites.
Goornong station is the first of three new stations being funded by the Victorian Government as part of the Bendigo Metro 3 to give people in growing communities access to trains close to where they live. The new station at Goornong will be located between the Midland Highway and the rail line in Goornong, to the west of the Chute Street/Goornong-Barnadown Road level crossing. The single-sided platform station will be equipped with lighting, seating and shelter, signage, CCTV, and public address system and car parking with lighting and CCTV.
Further works on the Bendigo and Echuca Line upgrade programme continue, with the delivery of Huntly station targeted for completion in mid-2022, and Raywood Station to follow late next year.
The design and development of the new electronic train order (ETO) system is also progressing, as part of Bendigo and Echuca Line upgrade. The ETO system will allow additional weekday return services to both Eaglehawk and Epsom and triple the number of weekday services to and from Echuca when the project is completed.
The upgrade of the two railway lines, on the Victoria’s regional train network, is part of the investment committed by the Australian and Victorian governments with a value of more than AUD 4 billion (USD 2.8 billion) to upgrade every regional passenger rail line in Victoria.
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