Under Inland Rail project, the first delivery of steel rail was delivered for the Parkes to Narromine section, in New South Wales. With the first 14,000 tonnes of steel delivered, track works on the section will begin in May.
The rail is 60 kilograms of steel per metre, easily accommodating the Inland Rail standard of double-stack trains of up to 1,800m in length travelling at 115 km/h with a 21 tonne axle load.
Construction works on the Parkes to Narromine section will commence once all necessary approvals have been received. Works will include reconstruction of the existing track, replacement of bridges and culverts, enhanced level crossings and crossing loops.
The Parkes – Narromine section is one of 13 projects that completes Inland Rail. It’s one of seven in New South Wales, and is approximately 106 km long. The project envisages upgrade works of an existing rail corridor, and includes approximately 5 km of new rail connection at Parkes.
The upgrade project calls for replacing existing sleepers and track with cement sleepers and new tracks, realigning the track to minimise tight curves, raising the level of the rail formation (the supportive foundations of the track) and replacing and upgrading culverts and bridges. In addition, crossing loops will be constructed and the signalling and communications systems will be modernised.
This is the first steel rail delivered for the entire Inland Rail project since the Australian Government’s AUD 8.4 billion (USD 6.67 billion) commitment toward the project in the 2017-18 Federal Budget.
“Inland Rail will reduce freight transit times between Melbourne and Brisbane to within 24 hours, lower transport costs and improve supply chain access for our farmers and businesses. This important infrastructure will be the catalyst for flow on benefits and businesses are already gearing up to make the most of the opportunity. What’s more, the reduction of heavy vehicles on the local road network will improve road safety, which remains a key issue for regional Australia,” Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance of Western Australia said.
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