All Victorian contracts for a 1700km national freight rail line have been inked, with the state’s portion of the mega project set to be finished within three years.
The $31 billion Inland Rail project would allow for double-stacked freight trains to move goods from Brisbane to Melbourne, getting products onto shelves quicker and more reliably.
Construction giant John Holland has been awarded the $470 million contract for the remaining eight project sites in Victoria, including to build rail bridges and lower existing tracks under roads.
It includes sites in Benalla and Euroa where railway station precincts will get major upgrades and new carparking, as well as in Wandong, Broadford, and near Tallarook and Seymour.
John Holland, which is part of the group building the $14bn Metro Tunnel rail line under the CBD, has also worked on other sections of Inland Rail in Victoria.
The announcement is significant for the project, which was reviewed last year amid a budget blowout worth about $15bn and was described by former Energy Security Board chair Dr Kerry Schott as being in a “regrettable situation”.
A render of the $31bn Inland Rail project.
Amid uncertainty around the construction schedule, the Albanese Government said it would prioritise delivery of the link between Beveridge and Parkes in NSW, which would boost supply chain “resilience” between Melbourne, Perth, Sydney, Newcastle, the Illawarra and Adelaide.
Inland Rail chief executive, Nick Miller, said the new contract was “a major step forward” and that ongoing works at Glenrowan, Wangaratta, and Seymour were progressing well, with Barnawartha North completed.
He said the works on the final eight Victorian sites would begin in 2025.
“John Holland is currently carrying out early works and site investigations before kicking off Tranche 2 construction early in the new year,” he said.
Herald Sun
Inland Rail chief executive, Nick Miller, said the new contract was “a major step forward” and that ongoing works at Glenrowan, Wangaratta, and Seymour were progressing well, with Barnawartha North completed.
What would need to be completed at Seymour as no overhead bridges.
Having travelled the Newell “Truckway” recently, I cannot wait to see Inland Rail come to fruition… and in a shorter timeframe than proposed too. That won’t happen of course!
Many of the trucks that haul products between Melbourne and Brisbane and places in-between on the “Truckway” have now grown to become two-trailer roadtrains and many B-doubles have grown into B-triples and some with larger combos of trailers. 80-90 gross tonne trucks are belting the road surface into oblivion, so much so that in places, I struggled to hold on to the steering wheel, such was the appalling road surface. Don’t use the Newell Highway if you can avoid it, it’s in appalling condition in most of the route.