Arc Infrastructure’s Regional teams – Central, Goldfields and Metro – undertook key maintenance works during the recent 86-hour shut on the Arc network.
The extended network shut period had been scheduled to accommodate critical major turnout replacements in Moondyne, as well as METRONET works for the New Midland Station.
Central
In the Central region, works included laying 2.7 kilometres of new 60 kilogram rail between Grass Valley and Carrabin, in addition to a full level crossing upgrade at Grass Valley. The team also completed the replacement of an end-of-life turnout at Carrabin.
The Central team works consisted of approximately 100 rail cuts, 60 Thermit welds, and 500 tonnes of ballast dropped. To complete the required activities the works required 1500 labour hours (Arc and Contractors), use of the turnout laying system, six loaders, three excavators, two backhoes and two suites of track machines.
The Rail Recovery Team provided assistance to the Central team during the works.
Goldfields
In the Goldfields region, the team completed works on the Beaton Road level crossing near Southern Cross.
The Goldfields team also completed an upgrade at Jaurdi Loop, which involved removing more than 1km of track prior to laying more than 1,500 new concrete sleepers and installing the new track.
A further 1,000 concrete sleepers were being laid following the shut.
Metro
The Metro team works involved rerailing and rail destressing at multiple locations during the shut period. In total, 850m of track was rerailed at three different locations.
The Track team was also responsible for supervising two sites where powerlines and poles were replaced.
Head of Maintenance Delivery Tim Linton said the teams had worked hard to complete large volumes of work at different locations across their regional areas.
“There has been a lot of coordination between our regions to achieve this significant scope of work, with support from the Maintenance Support planning team.”
“It’s the collaborative effort between all the teams which enabled this much work to take place, as it required intricate planning to ensure track machines could get to the correct locations and for resources to be allocated appropriately.”
The 86-hour ‘mega’ shut occurred from Tuesday 1 to Friday 4 October 2024.
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