The three contractors will now develop their final design and construct tender submissions for the Inland Rail Beveridge to Albury section for Tranche 2 works at Benalla, Euroa, Broadford, Wandong, Seymour, and Tallarook.
The Request for Tender shortlisting follows a rigorous expression of interest process, which drew a high standard of responses from local and interstate construction firms to deliver Inland Rail, that will transform how goods are moved around Australia.
Inland Rail projects in Victoria will be undertaken at 12 sites to enable double-stacked freight trains to pass safely and ensure everyday products can be delivered faster and more reliably around Australia.
The preferred contractor will be announced in mid-2024, with Tranche 2 construction starting from 2025.
“The remaining eight Victorian Inland Rail sites will be awarded to the very best available team and ARTC is now entering a formal Request for Tender phase to determine who will be chosen,” Ed Walker, ARTC Victoria and South Australia Projects General Manager, said.
The eight sites under the second phase (Tranche 2) the project consists of works at seven bridges (seven locations) and at Benalla station precinct, where is not enough clearance under the station overpass for double-stacked freight trains. In this case, the ARTC studied two options covering bridge replacing and track realignment as part of a station modification. Following public consultation, the preferred option is to realign the track and modify the station precinct. The tracks will be relocated on the south side of the station (Mackellar Street side) to the north side (Railway Place side) of the station, and the road overpass at Benalla Station will be removed.
Works for bridges will be carried out at the sites in Wandong, Tallarook, Seymour, Euroa and in three sites will be located Broadford for three bridges. Most of the existing bridges will be replaced either safer but higher bridge structure, either a new bridge, an underpass or where these structures are not complying, the tracks will be lowered.
The Beveridge – Albury rail section, in North East Victoria, includes upgrading 262 km of existing rail track between Beveridge, north of Melbourne, and the Victoria-NSW border at Albury-Wodonga. The construction works will be varied out at 12 sites along the North East rail and delivered into two phases. The first phase (Tranche 1) consists of works carried out at four sites by McConnell Dowell at Glenrowan, Barnawartha North, Wangaratta, and Seymour.
Under the contract, McConnell Dowell will replace the Beaconsfield Parade bridge (in Glenrowan), will lower the tracks under the Murray Valley Highway bridge (at Barnawartha North site), will relocate the existing tracks and platform from the eastern side to western side of the Wangaratta station where it will also remove the two existing footbridges and replacing them with a single pedestrian underpass. Track lowering and replacement is also envisaged on the Green Street bridge at Wangaratta, while the Seymour-Avenel Road bridge (Seymour site) will be replaced. The company will also modify overhead powerlines, and relocate tracks along the entire section.
In February 2023, the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) launched the major construction works of Tottenham – Albury rail section, part of Inland Rail projects in Victoria. The AUD 200 million (USD 129.6 million) contract was awarded to McConnell Dowell which will build new bridges and stations as well as track realignment along the section.
To provide the cross-border connection between New South Wales and Victoria,, ARTC has announced that Beveridge (Victoria) – Parkes (New south Wales) section has been selected as a priority project for completion in 2027.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation has announced that Inland Rail Beveridge – Parkes rail section have been prioritised for completion by 2027 when will provide connection between Victoria and the New South Wales.
Due to its complexity, Inland Rail will cross three states along a 1,600 km rail corridor which is split into 12 individual projects, with one section in Victoria, seven in New South Wales, and four in Queensland. The entire project comprises of the upgrade of 1,000 km of existing lines and the construction of 600 km of new track to remove the missing links between Melbourne and Brisbane.
When completed, the double-stacked trains will cover the distance between Melbourne and Brisbane via Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland in 24 hours from 33 hours currently.
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