Adelaide – Tarcoola Rail Upgrade Acceleration

With the help of funding from the Australian Government, we have been able to bring forward a significant package of re-railing upgrade work to improve the capability of the rail line between Adelaide and Tarcoola in South Australia.

The project involves the upgrade of approximately 600 kilometres of track on the Interstate network between Adelaide (Islington and Outer Harbor) and Tarcoola which supports intermodal freight traffic to and from WA as well as a lot of heavy minerals rail freight. The upgrade will improve capacity by increasing rail size along the interstate line, moving rail size from 47 kg per metre to 60kg per metre and along with some other works will allow for higher axle loads (25 tonnes at 80km/h).

By lifting the maximum axle loading from 23 tonnes to 25 tonnes the re-railing upgrade will improve the productivity of existing services and improve operating performance as it allows heavier, more efficient freight trains to operate at faster speeds.

On top of the infrastructure improvements, the project creates and supports a number of jobs in regional South Australia.  The project directly supports steel manufacturing with over 70,000 tonnes of Australian-made, Whyalla steel rail to be delivered as part of this project.

Additionally, up to 130 direct jobs will be created at  ARTC’s flashbutt welding facility at Spencer Junction in Port Augusta and in construction and project management jobs to deliver the re-railing itself over the next few years.

The Adelaide – Tarcoola Re-railing Upgrade has been assessed by Infrastructure Australia and designated a priority project. The upgrade builds upon an existing 100 kilometres of track enhancements that have already been completed by ARTC along this section of rail line.  The project is expected to be completed in late 2019.

Related Stories and Documents

This project has an Australian Industry Participation Plan. For relevant tenders associated with this project, please visit TenderLink: www.tenderlink.com/artc  The Expression of Interest for the Rail Installation for the project has been released and can be seen on the Tenderlink page.

Read Media Release: ARTC to deliver significant rail upgrade

Read Media Release: Australian railway contract keeps furnaces firing at Whyalla steel mill

Video courtesy Arrium

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