William Scott
The largest scope of works ever undertaken in a single track possession in Victora has now been completed as part of the Australian Rail Track Corporation’s (ARTC) Inland Rail.
From Thursday 7 to Wednesday 13 March at 6.00pm, Inland Rail carried out large-scale works at Wangaratta, Glenrowan, Seymour-Avenel Road Seymour, Kilmore East and Tallarook.
Inland Rail, with contract partner McConnell Dowell:
- Demolished and removed bridges at Seymour and Glenrowan
- Lowered tracks, decommissioned the old ‘dive’ rail line and built the new west track at Wangaratta
- Installed new signal gantries at Kilmore East and Tallarook
Two hundred workers were engaged during the possession to complete the construction and demolition tasks.
ARTC Victoria and South Australian General Manager Projects, Ed Walker, said that complex engineering work of this nature can only be undertaken safely when the line is closed.
“The construction teams only have two track possessions a year to carry out such a large works program, so the planning is methodical to ensure we complete the tasks and return the line to the train operators on time,” Mr Walker said.
“Wangaratta was especially busy with work extending beyond the usual 60-hour track possession to complete the removal of the Green St bridge, backfill the ‘dive’, lower tracks, and install the new west track.
“We apologise for the disruptions and thank local communities for their patience and understanding during this busy construction period.”
