INVESTMENT
The $960 million invested in the
Southern Sydney Freight Line has already
provided a significant boost in reliability
since operations began in January 2013.
Trains from the south are no longer
bottlenecked by the Sydney metropolitan
passenger network curfew thanks to this
dedicated freight line cutting out the
need for freight trains to travel on the
passenger network.
The five year $134 million Ballast
Rehabilitation Program is now close to
returning services between Melbourne
and Sydney to timetable running times.
There is still work to be done over the
next few years but a large part of the
program is complete and operators are
providing positive feedback on the track
improvements.
A major safety system improvement was
achieved across the East West corridor
by bringing three different safe working
systems down to just a single, modern
form of safeworking as part of a project
to construct and commission four new
crossing loops between Gheringhap and
Maroona in western Victoria.
One of the busiest sections of the
national Interstate network has also
entered the digital age, with the first
stage of Centralised Train Control (CTC)
– switched on between Coonamia and
Port Augusta in South Australia. The
rollout of CTC will improve the safety of
the busy Adelaide to Tarcoola corridor
as well as make the control of train
movements much more efficient.
Southern Sydney Freight Line, NSW
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