$4 million in Planned maintenance works this weekend in North East Victoria

Approximately 40 infrastructure renewal and annual maintenance projects will be carried out by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) in North East Victoria this weekend, including track resurfacing, bridge upgrades and level crossing improvements.

The ARTC will be carrying out the $4 million in targeted maintenance works in a “shutdown period”, during which fewer trains will be running.

Between 17-19 March, approximately 40km of track will be re-surfaced, 7 existing bridges will be upgraded with new concrete ballast top decks replacing aging timber decks and transoms, and 5 level crossings will have track re-conditioning and road re-surfacing works completed,

At the same time, around 500 metres of mud holes will be removed, V-crossing build ups and replacements will be undertaken, and 2 new level crossings with boom protection will be commissioned by VicTrack.

Geotechnical investigations at Murray Valley Highway near Barnawartha will also be carried out over the weekend for the Inland Rail project.

Jonathan Vandervoort , the ARTC’s Group Executive Interstate, said that the works had been planned months in advance and were aimed at improving the reliability of passenger and freight services on the network.

“It is important we approach maintenance in a careful, staged and planned manner in the context of all rail operations and the needs of the entire network,” Vandervoort said.

“This is particularly relevant for North East Victoria which serves valuable freight and passenger services operating across the national interstate rail freight network, from Melbourne to Albury and beyond.

“A new freight rail customer operating out of Logic intermodal hub has already gone from three services to five services per week in under a year, demonstrating continued confidence in the rail network meeting customer needs.”

Coach services will replace Albury trains for the entire journey to and from Melbourne from Saturday 17 March until the afternoon of Monday 19 March.

Vandervoort said that, due to truck movements on and near the worksites, it was important for the community and motorists to be cautious around work sites in the rail corridor and level crossings.

“We also apologise for any disruption or inconvenience caused as a result of the work and thank the community for its support and patience while these essential projects are taking place,” he said.