Return to Service between Ardglen and Kankool on the Hunter Valley rail network

Sunday 6 June 2020

The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) can confirm rail traffic has returned to service in the section between Ardglen and Kankool on the Hunter Valley rail network this morning following the successful recovery and safe removal of two bank locomotive engines, after they derailed on Wednesday evening at 7:50pm.

Recovery work continued over the weekend with two heavy-lift cranes lifting the locomotive engines off the tracks, which was completed Saturday morning. The lifting of the locomotives required the use of 15 semi-trailers and 12 pieces of earthmoving equipment to assist with the recovery.

Track repairs commenced following the completion of this process, and were finalised on Saturday afternoon. There was approximately 200 metres of damaged track repaired, and 60 concrete sleepers replaced.

Workers were on site around the clock, with up to 45 people working at any given time during the recovery and repair process, with staff spending over 1750 hours on site to ensure a swift recovery.

The site continues to be monitored and controlled to ensure the safety of all those involved in ongoing maintenance in the area.

ARTC would like to thank our customers for their understanding throughout the recovery and repair.

ENDS

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