INLAND Rail contractors have taken advantage of a 15-hour closure of the Melbourne-Albury line in the past week to perform essential construction works on Victorian sites as the Melbourne-Brisbane rail freight line moves towards completing the Beveridge, Victoria to Parkes, NSW section by 2027.
Work has ramped up at the Tallarook and Seymour sites under the Hume Freeway, where the railway line will be lowered to accommodate double-stacked freight trains, a key outcome the 1600-km project will deliver to enhance rail freight efficiency.
Inland Rail construction partner John Holland carried out substructure piling works, installed retaining walls, and continued embankment widening at the sites.
At sites in Broadford, the Inland Rail project team installed new drainage, excavated a new access track, demolished redundant retaining walls, and fitted new railway track monuments.
Abutment works were also carried out on the Broadford-Wandong Road site, Wandong, where a new elevated bridge with the clearance for double-stacked freight trains will be installed in the new year.
“It’s exciting to see the activity ramping up on the Hume Freeway sites at Tallarook and Seymour, and work powering ahead at Broadford and Wandong, Inland Rail Beveridge to Albury project director Russell Hamilton said.
“Our access to the railway line is restricted to a small number of track possessions every year so we must make the most of them.”
Inland Rail will also take advantage of the current closure of the Shepparton Line to complete further works on 6-7 December.