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Bridge closure plays havoc with Sydney-Melbourne freight

<p>The closure of a 140-year-old railway bridge south of Sydney is causing major disruptions to freight services between Sydney and southern destinations.</p> <p>The bridge, which crosses the Nepean River at Menangle, has been closed pending an inspection and report from the Rail Infrastructure Corporation.</p> <p>Transport New South Wales director general Michael Deegan ordered that the bridge be shut after an inspection on Thursday (March 27).</p> <p>A Pacific National spokesman said the situation is causing serious problems for freight services between Sydney and Melbourne.</p> <p>"There are major disruptions to our services," he said.</p> <p>"This was caused by the closure itself and also by the lack of notice about the closure."</p> <p>Pacific National has been forced to divert services via the Illawarra Line or over the Blue Mountains &#8211 a route that forces the company to reduce the length of its trains.</p> <p>"It’s caused significant problems for our customers," the spokesman added.</p> <p>The issue will be how long it takes the bridge to re-open and under what conditions, Pacific National believes </p> <p>A Rail Infrastructure Corporation spokesman told <em>Rail Express</em> this morning (Monday, March 31) that the corporation is still waiting for the assessment of the bridge to be completed.</p> <p>It is not known when the bridge will re-open, he said.</p> <br />