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- Trackwork from 6am Tuesday 11 October – 6am Friday 14 October
- Over $20 million worth of track work in three days
The support of nearly 1000 contractors working closely with ARTC staff in a ‘One Team’ approach is critical to more than $20 million worth of track work being successfully delivered next week, ARTC’s Executive General Manager, Hunter Valley – Jonathan Vandervoort said today.
The ‘trackwork team’ will be delivering more than 100 projects around the Hunter Valley, essential to keeping train operations safe and the third busiest rail network in the country running smoothly, Mr Vandervoort said.
“These network-wide track maintenance works are part of an intricately planned schedule, taking into account the needs of the coal network as well as other events, such as avoiding school holiday periods,” Mr Vandervoort said.
The pre-planned maintenance work will see everything from full track reconstructions take place, to new rail being laid, level crossing improvements, ballast cleaned, rail corridor tidy up works and signalling maintenance completed.
“To maintain a high standard of safety and reliability across our network we sometimes need to restrict access to parts of the track to carry out maintenance and construction works,” Mr Vandervoort said.
“By closing sections of track we can deliver more work, faster and importantly in a safer environment for track workers.”
The Hunter Valley maintenance shutdown will take place in the rail corridor from Kooragang Island, North to Narrabri and between Muswellbrook and Ulan on the Ulan line.
“Our focus is on safe, continuous and reliable operations and this maintenance shutdown is critical to ensuring the Hunter coal chain runs as seamlessly as possible,” Mr Vandervoort said.
“We’d like to thank the community for their patience with us while this important work is delivered and we also ask motorists to take extra care and be cautious of trucks entering and exiting work sites.”
The next major Hunter Valley maintenance works period is currently scheduled for 21-25 November, where a massive package of work will take place to allow us to avoid major works over the Christmas – New Year holiday period. The first major shutdown in 2017 will be in late February.
ENDS
Media Contact: Bas Bolyn, ARTC, 0477 340 658
- Visit our new online trackwork calendar at www.artc.com.au/community/track-work/ so you can stay across upcoming work and when it is happening
- Passenger trains: In the early morning and late evenings local Hunter passenger trains will be impacted, please visit www.sydneytrains.info or www.nswtrainlink.info for passenger service impacts. Intercity trains to the Northwest (Moree/Armidale) will also be impacted and replaced by road coach service 11-13 October.
About ARTC in the Hunter Valley
- ARTC employs over 330 people in the Hunter Valley. Our staff are based locally, live work and play locally in locations throughout the Hunter Valley and Central West NSW.
- Our company makes a direct economic contribution into the broader Hunter Valley economy of more than $100 million per year.
- We directly and indirectly support thousands of local jobs through contract labour and railway worker hire, accommodation, local general stores, vehicle, equipment and plant hire, quarry materials and much, much more.
- Our Hunter Valley network moves coal, general freight, bulk freight and passengers – around 240 trains per day. Around half of these trains are loaded with coal for export to overseas markets, part of our role in supporting one of the world’s largest coal export operations.
- We operate and maintain the existing Interstate and Hunter Valley rail networks through the revenue we earn from our customers. We charge rail operators a fee to run trains on our tracks, and we then in-turn use this revenue to ensure the network is safe, reliable and to pay for maintenance and operation cos.