The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has invited three consortia to submit proposals for the Gowrie-Kagaru rail section of Inland Rail, to be delivered as a Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Capstone, G2K Connect and Regionerate Rail are now entering a Request for Proposal phase to determine which consortium will win the contract for this section in Queensland. The project includes the 6.2 km tunnel through the Toowoomba Range, the longest diesel freight rail tunnel in the Southern Hemisphere.
- Capstone comprises CPB Contractors, Ghella, UGL, DIF, Pacific Partnerships
- G2Konnect comprises Acciona, Ferrovial, Cintra, Macquarie
- Regionerate Rail comprises Clough, GS Engineering and Construction, Webuild (formerly Salini Impregilo), Lend Lease Services, Plenary Group
The contract is expected to be awarded in 2022 to the group that delivers the best proposal.
“The RFP process will enable ARTC to leverage the considerable global engineering expertise required to deliver innovative design solutions and efficient construction methods for this technically challenging terrain,” Inland Rail CEO Richard Wankmuller said.
The PPP will deliver the modernisation of the existing tracks from Gowrie outside Toowoomba to Kagaru near Beaudesert and will include the construction of new tracks, tunnels, as well as viaducts, bridges and crossing loops.
The Gowrie-Kagaru rail project involves the construction of 126 km of new dual gauge track and upgrade works for 71 km of tracks from the New South Wales/Queensland border, near Yelarbon, to Gowrie Junction, north west of Toowoomba in Queensland.
The 128 km Gowrie to Kagaru section is the most technically complex of the Inland Rail 13 projects. It requires the construction of a 6.2 km tunnel through the Toowoomba Range, numerous viaducts, bridges and crossing loops to build a new dual gauge track traversing Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley, Ipswich and the Scenic Rim.
ARTC has conducted field and geotechnical investigations, modelling and community feedback, and are preparing to finalise the designs.
Project highlights:
- 126 km of new dual gauge track;
- 8 km of tunnels, including a 6 km tunnel through the Toowoomba Range;
- 25 level crossings and 10 road-over-rail separations;
- 21 viaducts totalling 5.7 km in length;
- 37 river bridges, including 20 totalling one kilometre in length between Helidon and Calvert;
- 11 crossing loops.
Under the Inland Rail project, more than AUD 1 billion contracts have been awarded to companies working. Recently, the ARTC and Trans4m Rail joint venture signed a USD 503 million contract for Narrabri-North Star section in NSW.
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