$200M contract awarded for works on the first Inland Rail sites

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has awarded a contract to McConnell Dowell to start construction on the first Inland Rail sites in Victoria.

The Inland Rail project is Australia’s largest freight rail infrastructure project and will consist of over 1700 kilometers of rail connecting Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

The Tottenham to Albury section of Inland Rail will upgrade 305km of existing rail corridor between metropolitan Melbourne and the Victoria-NSW border at Albury-Wodonga. The first phase of the project requires works at 12 sites along the North East rail line.

The contract, valued at approximately $200 million, will include upgrades to existing infrastructure on the Seymour-Avenel Road bridge in Seymour, Murray Valley Highway in Barnawartha North, Wangaratta Station Precinct, Wangaratta and the Beaconsfield Parade precinct in Glenrowan.

McConnell Dowell will also deliver corridor wide works as part of the new contract, including signalling works, track slews and overhead utilities works.

McConnell Dowell has already carried out initial design and preparatory works at four sites on the existing North East Rail Line to enable Inland Rail double-stacked freight trains to run between Beveridge and Albury.

Ed Walker, ARTC Victoria and South Australia Projects General Manager said McConnell Dowell was selected based on its experience in delivering major projects.

“The award of this construction contract follows all primary planning and environmental approvals for Inland Rail in Victoria being obtained at the end of September, which means we can get on with delivering Inland Rail,” Walker said.

“We’re pleased to have McConnell Dowell on board to begin construction on Inland Rail in Victoria, which is a crucial step for Australia’s largest infrastructure project.”

Tom Foley, McConnell Dowell T2A Project Manager, said the project would create fresh opportunities for existing businesses.

“Our team has worked night and day with the ARTC Inland Rail team over the past two years to make this vision a reality, we are very much looking forward to getting boots on the ground and building infrastructure that will change the way that freight moves around Australia for our future generations.”

The contract is expected to support work for more than 170 people directly employed with McConnell Dowell over the life of the project – expected to be complete in 2025.

For more information on the Inland Rail project, click here.