Works have been completed on the Beveridge to Albury section of the Inland Rail project, set to connect Melbourne and Brisbane
Inland Rail has completed its 60-hour track possession on the Beveridge to Albury section of the project, with the railway line now reopened to rail services.
The 1,600km freight rail line under construction is set to connect Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
During the track possession, work was carried out at Wangaratta, Euroa, Benalla, Tallarook, Seymour, Wandong and Broadford.
“We only get two major track possessions a year, so they are critically important for the completion of the project,” Inland Rail delivery director Beveridge to Albury Ed Walker says.
“A lot of planning takes place, so we can complete a large volume of work in a short period and keep the disruption of the rail line to a minimum.”
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At Wangaratta, the railway station pedestrian underpass was completed and opened to the public and the nearby Docker Street footbridge was dismantled.
The Benalla signal box was also removed, with Inland Rail saying care was taken to salvage key items such as the signal frame, and the railway station power supply was relocated.
To ensure the Birkett Street level crossing can support the detour traffic when the Anderson Street bridge is closed in Euroa, work was carried out to widen sections of the approach roads, replace existing ballast, sleepers and rail, and relocate and upgrade the level crossing.
Geotechnical works, vegetation removal and the installation of safety barriers and fencing took place on the Broadford, Wandong and Hume Freeway sites to prepare for major construction later in the year.
Beveridge to Albury Tranche 2 construction partner, John Holland confirmed:
- 2,607sqm of soil was excavated
- 886 linear metres of fencing and concrete barriers were installed
- 800 metres of cable was commissioned
- 110 metres of new rail was installed
- 170 new sleepers were installed
- 41 pieces of monitoring equipment were installed
- two boom gates and two flashing lights were installed
- six redundant power poles were removed.