- Media Release
- Hunter Valley rail shutdown 19-21 May
- 3 days of intensive maintenance activity
- Over a thousand workers along the rail corridor
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The Hunter Valley coal chain will be a hive of activity next week as around $20 million worth of rail maintenance tasks are undertaken and major projects are finalised.
Executive General Manager – Hunter Valley, Jonathan Vandervoort, said this shutdown would be particularly important to ensure the quality and condition of the track was at its best following recent extreme weather events.
The rail shutdowns are an important part of the coal chain calendar, allowing vital maintenance and upgrade tasks to take place in a safer environment where there are fewer trains running.
The shutdown starts at 6am Tuesday 19 May and runs until late Thursday evening, 22 May. Additionally there are some local works taking place at Kooragang through to Friday afternoon.
Over a thousand ARTC staff and contractors work dozens of sites across the Hunter Valley rail corridor from the Port to Narrabri and from Muswellbrook to Ulan.
“These shutdowns are planned more than a year in advance to allow customers to manage their throughput and production schedules and to ensure integration across the intricately managed Hunter coal chain.
“We recognise there is some disruption when important works like this take place,” Mr Vandervoort said.
“We appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers and the community as these works are vital to keeping the network reliable and safe.”
“We would especially like to ask motorists to take care near the rail corridor, as there will be more trucks on the road than usual, entering and exiting work sites.
The next major, network-wide maintenance shutdown will be between 14-16 July.
There are changes to passenger rail services, for specific service information on passenger rail operations, please visit www.nswtrainlink.info or www.sydneytrains.info.
“Alongside rail maintenance, the shutdown also allows our partners in the coal chain, from pit-to-port, to undertake important maintenance tasks,” Mr Vandervoort said.
ENDS Media Contact: Bas Bolyn, ARTC, 0477 340 658