A 100-hour work blitz starting on Friday 13 September will see huge progress being made on the Stockinbingal to Parkes section of the Inland Rail project.
A major construction blitz starting today (13th September) will see the Inland Rail project push forward with day-and-night works on the section between Stockinbingal and Parkes.
The 100-hour track possession will close the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) line from Forbes to Goobang Junction from 6am on Saturday 14 September to 10am Wednesday 18 September.
The track closure opportunity will permit rail infrastructure contractor Martinus Rail to carry out works on several sites across the Stockinbingal to Parkes section to prepare the line for future double-stacked freight trains.
Some out-of-hours works related to the track possession will start earlier, at 6pm on Friday 13 September, finishing at 7am on Thursday 19 September.
At Daroobalgie, north of Forbes, new turnouts will be installed at the new crossing loop, preparations for which include earthworks, drainage and ballast installation.
At Wyndham Avenue, Forbes the existing track under the road bridge will be lowered by 1.5 metres and new stormwater drainage installed.
At Forbes Station the track will be slewed laterally half a metre and the station awning trimmed back 300mm, while scaffolding will be installed on the Lachlan River Bridge ahead of bridge modifications that will take place after the possession.
Due to the nature of the work at the Lachlan River Bridge, a 30-metre exclusion zone will be enforced, and environmental controls installed to protect the waterway and riverbanks.
Since July last year:
• Inland Rail has spent more than $6.5 million with 85 local businesses on the project between Albury and Parkes.
• On the same section, Inland Rail has employed a total of 404 people.
• 127 of the total are local residents, and 36 of the total are women.
• 39 of the total are First Nations people.
• Of the 127 local residents, 24 are First Nations people.
James Kennedy, Delivery Director, Albury to Parkes (A2P), Inland Rail, said “The September 100-hour possession gives us an opportunity to make great strides forward on the Stockinbingal to Parkes section of Inland Rail.
“We are committed to delivering Inland Rail South of Parkes by 2027 and this possession gives us the opportunity to safely complete a significant amount of scope as we work towards this goal.
“We are thankful for the cooperation and understanding of the communities in which we are working, and we would like to acknowledge the residents, business owners and road users for their patience during this period.”
Treaven Martinus, Martinus Rail CEO and founder, said “We are honoured to play such a pivotal role in the Inland Rail project, a cornerstone of Australia’s future regional infrastructure.
“This super possession represents a key opportunity for us to apply our expertise in complex brownfield railway works. Across multiple locations, our plant and equipment will be hard at work, excavating for track lowering, installing drainage lines and reconstructing track formations.
“We’re committed to driving progress efficiently and safely as we work to deliver this transformative rail link.”