Major boost to Melbourne-Sydney line

The construction involved laying new track and concrete sleepers, new turnouts and new signalling infrastructure on the two passing lanes between Seymour and Melbourne, worth around $19 million each.
The two 7 km passing lanes are long enough to cater for 1800m trains passing each other at speed.
ARTC chief execuitve David Marchant said the new passing lanes represent significant investment in increasing capacity and reducing transit time between Melbourne and Sydney.
“ARTC is pushing forward with our plans to upgrade the Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne corridor and make rail transport more competitive,” Marchant said.
“Passing lanes are significant pieces of infrastructure that allow trains carrying freight between capital cities to carry on at regular speed as they pass each other.
“This has an important roll on effect of reducing overall transit time on the North South line between Sydney and Melbourne.”
The passing lanes are “important milestones” in the strategy to cut the transit time from Melbourne to Sydney to as low as 10 hours 40 minutes and 15 hours 35 minutes between Sydney and Brisbane, Marchant said.
“The passing loops and lanes ARTC is constructing along the rail corridor, the new concrete sleepers, and the signal upgrades are, combined, perhaps the biggest rail project since the track was originally laid,” he said.
“The investment in this corridor upgrade will see rail becoming competitive, and as each 1500 metre long train can replace 100 semi trailers we could see less trucks on our major roads.”
The work was undertaken by ARTC’s partners in the South Improvement Alliance.