- Three-day maintenance possession of the Melbourne to Adelaide line
- Line closed from 9am Saturday 19 August to 6pm Monday 21 August (Victoria) and 2am Tuesday 22 August (South Australia)
- Buses to replace trains while works take place
The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) will carry-out essential rail maintenance and improvement works on the Melbourne to Adelaide line from Saturday 19 August through to early Tuesday 22 August 2023.
ARTC will carry-out 30 separate maintenance activities worth more than $8 million over the three-day track possession to ensure the line maintains high standards of safety and reliability.
The Melbourne to Adelaide line is one of two critical rail lines connecting the east and west coasts of Australia and the possession allows ARTC significant access to the rail corridor to complete a wide range of works at multiple locations that cannot be completed between train services.
As part of the ARTC’s customer-driven track resiliency program, the maintenance work will include replacing 14 kilometres of rail, removing 500 metres of mudholes, clearing dangerous trees near the track, upgrading the Queen Street subway structure in Ararat, and geotechnical work in the Adelaide Hills.
Freight and passenger services will be suspended on the line from 6am Saturday 19 August to 2am Tuesday 22 August, with buses replacing train services.
Costas Kokkoni, ARTC General Manager Asset Maintenance Services said:
“ARTC continues to invest in the Melbourne to Adelaide line to make it more resilient and reliable for our freight customers, passengers and consumers.
“ARTC has made every effort to minimise disruption to services and we thank the community for its patience while these critical infrastructure improvements are underway.”
For additional information on the maintenance work contact ARTC’s Enviroline on 1300 550 402.