First tender awarded for Botany Rail Line upgrade

RHOMBERG Rail has been awarded the first construction contract for Stage 3 of the $75 million Port Botany Rail Line upgrade. The project is fully funded by the Federal Government.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss said the contract award comes on the back of a record month for containers hauled to and from Port Botany by rail.

“Reducing the impact of freight traffic on motorists by developing cross-metropolitan, rail container shuttle services has been a focus of the Australian and New South Wales governments for some years and this upgrade will allow more efficient access to the Port, improve productivity and prepare it for future growth,” Mr Truss said.

“Rhomberg Rail will deliver concrete re-sleepering and embankment upgrade works to the freight network between Sefton and Campsie in Sydney’s west.

Port Botany 2015
Port Botany

 

“Stage 3 will not only improve the rail line’s reliability, but improve the connectivity between the Port and the broader Sydney rail freight network, including intermodal terminals. These upgrades will bring the entire metropolitan freight line up to ARTC standards.”

Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Rail Track Corporation John Fullerton said there are early signs of modal shift to rail, with new import/export freight and regional freight accessing the Port.

“In August 2015, a record number of containers were railed to and from Port Botany – over 30,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) – or around 15.9 per cent modal share for rail for the month,” Mr Fullerton said.

“With the future freight task only growing, the opportunity for rail to pick up more transport work in New South Wales is compelling. No other transport mode has the current existing capacity for this growing freight task or the ability to have an immediate impact on traffic congestion that currently gridlocks the city.”

The work awarded in this construction contract is expected to take up to 18 months to complete and starts in November. Pre-construction works for the project commenced in July.

ENDS

ARTC Media Contact: Bas Bolyn – 0477 340 658

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