110-Hour Hunter Valley Shutdown for Track Upgrades

The Australian Rail Track Corporation’s (ARTC) Hunter Valley network will shut down for
110 hours next week to carry out important maintenance work to keep the network safe and
reliable and conduct work on a range of major project works.

An ARTC spokesperson said a significant amount of work will be taking place during this
“mega-possession” from 6am Monday 17 November through to 8pm Friday 21 November.

“In addition to regular maintenance tasks, this Hunter Valley shutdown will allow important
final works to be undertaken at major infrastructure projects throughout the Hunter Valley
coal rail corridor,” the spokesperson said.

“The closedown will allow final construction and testing activities to take place at the
Hexham Relief Roads and Gunnedah Yard Upgrade projects as well as associated works for
the Scone Reconfiguration Project.”

“In addition to work on major infrastructure projects, general track maintenance activities to
maintain the safety and reliability of the track for both passenger and freight train services
will be undertaken,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said some of the jobs being delivered during the week included level
crossing improvements, re-railing, track resurfacing and other standard maintenance tasks
vital to keeping the third busiest network in the country operating reliably and safely.

Pre-planned network closures of this size are planned in excess of 12 months in advance.

“They are an important part of delivering large packages of work in an environment much
safer than a live one where multiple trains can run past at any time. It also minimises overall
disruption to our passenger, freight and coal customers.”

More than 150 projects are being completed this closedown, with maintenance works worth
in excess of $20 million being delivered. Over a thousand workers will be on the corridor,
including local contractors and suppliers, stretching from the Port in the South, out to the
Ulan in the West and Narrabri in the North.

Full Ballast Cleaning, an important job to ensure the safety of the rail corridor, will also be
taking place in the Maitland area during November and December.

ARTC has delivered nearly $1.5bn of capital works to the Hunter Valley since 2007.

There are some changes to passenger services during this time, for more information
customers should visit: www.sydneytrains.info or www.nswtrainlink.info

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