Sydney-Melbourne line will be possessed this weekend

THE MAIN Sydney-Melbourne rail line will be closed for 67 hours from this Friday night as the Australian Rail Track Corporation undertakes maintenance and improvement works under a ‘super possession’. The line between Cootamundra and Parkes will also be shut. 

The ARTC says that during the works, the railway line will be closed:  

• Between Chullora and Moss Vale in NSW from 11pm on Friday 12 September to 6pm Monday 15 September.  
• Between Moss Vale in NSW and Tottenham in Victoria and between Cootamundra and Parkes in NSW from 6am Saturday 13 September to 6pm Monday 15 September.  

Major works along the corridor include completing crossover installation works and replacing signalling infrastructure at Werai as part of the Southern Highlands Overtaking Opportunities (SHOO) project.  

The Werai site will be commissioned during the corridor closedown, marking a significant milestone in the project. It will allow ARTC to begin utilising the benefits of SHOO, such as more efficient movement of freight and passenger rail services between Sydney and Melbourne.   

Maintenance activities include re-railing, track reconditioning, structures upgrades and repairs as well as mudhole removal and track ballasting and tamping activities. These works are part of ARTC’s commitment to improve network resilience and reliability, it says.  

Major construction will also be undertaken as part of the Inland Rail project, including the demolition of the Kemp Street bridge at Junee, NSW, and the Hamilton Street bridge at Broadford, Victoria.  

Clinton Crump, Group Executive Operations, said the planned network shutdown would allow the ARTC to complete more than 20,000 hours of work, maintaining the safety and reliability of the Sydney to Melbourne and Cootamundra to Parkes rail corridors.  

“Notably, it’s great to see the progress being made on the Southern Highlands Overtaking Opportunities project, it means we can start realising some of the benefits – ensuring the rail corridor will continue to serve as a vital link in the economic supply chain,” Mr Crump said. 

“ARTC would like to thank the community for their patience as we undertake these important long-term improvements.”