Rail lines throughout state get $137m upgrade to boost freight

The 11 projects were announced this week with businesses such as Manildra Group and GrainCorp having to provide sustainable business cases for investments by the Government.

In one of the major announcements, $60 million will be spent on improving the 174 kilometre rail line from Griffith to Junee, enabling heavier trains carrying up to 25 tonne axle loads, double-stacked containers, improving access to the major southern rail line. 

The increased axle loads will mean line speeds will increase from 50km/hr to 80km/hr, said NSW Freight Minister Melinda Pavey.

The upgrades include improving passing loops and sidings, renewing level crossings and strengthening bridge structures, and will shift more than 200,000t of road freight onto rail. 

“We’ve all waited a long time for this. This will give us a lot of great hope for the future as far as our economy drivers and things like that are concerned,” said Leeton mayor Paul Maytom.

Murray MP Austin Evans said the area had wine, cotton, rice and more that needed to be shipped out and onto the main freight line, so this would increase that efficiency “and that is just fantastic for our region”.

Mrs Pavey said the Fixing Country Rail program would improve regional freight connectivity on the NSW freight rail network.

“Along with two other projects which were announced in October 2017, this takes the total round one funding to around $138m,” she said.   

“While Fixing Country Rail funding will only be allocated to rail asset owners and managers, input from the people who produce and move freight will be critical to make sure we get the best ‘bang for our buck’ with the upgrades.

“We are focused on improving freight movement between the key freight hubs - farms, grain silos, saleyards, rail heads, supermarket distribution centres and depots.”

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The Manildra Group welcomed the upgrade of 13km of the South Coast line between Berry and Bomaderry, enabling increased volumes and substantially improving freight movement and traffic flows.

“This upgrade from Class 2 to Class 1 will remove capacity bottlenecks and improve freight movement for the entire network,” said Manildra Group national transport and logistics manager, Mark Owens. 

“This capacity corridor upgrade will increase our port efficiencies by up to 33 per cent, which will allow us to increase our volumes for export products including gluten, starch, glucose, beverage and industrial alcohol.” 

The works will remove more than 10,000 trucks from roads each year, shifting 350,000t of freight onto rail.

Upgrades in the Barwon electorate will see large savings for farmers – up to $500,000 a year in freight costs.

Barwon MP Kevin Humphries said the successful projects would put “hard-earned money back into the pockets of local farmers and businesses”. 

The projects include: $1.8m for rail siding upgrades and loading improvements at Bellata, the applicant was GrainCorp; $1.2m for rail siding upgrades and loading improvements at Condobolin, the applicant was GrainCorp. $2.5m for siding upgrades at Hermidale.

“The project at Bellata will mean around 700 trucks will be removed from our roads and in Condobolin, 900 trucks will also be taken off the road,” Mr Humphries said.

“This will benefit local farmers by reducing grain transport costs by $5/t in both regions. The $2.5m siding upgrade at Hermidale carries 430,000t of grain and minerals each year and the siding extension is expected to reduce freight moving costs by up to $1.80/t.” 

The Narromine Ulan upgrade is another of the 11 projects to be approved. Dubbo MP Troy Grant said  $4.2m will be invested to allow the Narromine Yard to accommodate 1500 metre long trains.

“The project was submitted by Australian Rail Track Corporation and also involves extending the Merrygoen Loop by 840m in the Barwon electorate. This will improve train operations with a potential 90 minute saving per train,” he said. 

“The work will support the export of grain through the Port of Newcastle and is estimated to reduce the cost of transporting grain by $2/t. This is great news for Dubbo. These projects will cut delivery times, allow more goods to be moved by rail and reduce costs for producers and consumers.”

Here is a list of the major announcements apart from Junee to Griffith line:

1. Ettamogah Rail Hub Siding Expansion in Albury;  The NSW Government is providing $7.5 million towards the expansion of the rail siding at the Ettamogah Rail Hub.  The expansion will add a 3.5km master siding and a further 2km of extended sidings.

2. Condobolin Rail Siding in Barwon, The NSW Government has committed $1.2 million to extend the Condobolin Rail Siding by 900m, upgrade signalling and remove a level crossing. The total cost of this project is $1.8 million.

3. Hermidale Multi-User Siding in Barwon, $2.5 million to fully fund the new Hermidale Multi User Siding.  Construction of the siding on the Narromine to Cobar Line will improve rail network efficiency. The siding will be able to accommodate trains up to 1.2km long. The project will support the movement of approximately 430,000 tonnes of grain and minerals a year while helping to take an estimated 33,000 tonnes of freight off our roads. 

4. Bellata Rail Siding in Barwon. $1.8 million towards the construction of twin 400m dead end sidings, three new points and new turnouts on the Moree to Narrabri Line at Bellata. The total cost of this project is $2.6 million. 

5. Red Bend Rail Siding in Orange. $970,000 towards extending the Red Bend Siding  south by 400m, extending the current mainline connection by 80m, installation of two new points to connect the current infrastructure into the new extensions. These improvements will allow more than 26,000 tonnes of grain, in over 600 trucks, to be taken off our roads and put onto trains each year. 

6. Narromine – Ulan upgrade projects in Dubbo. $4.2 million to extend the Merrygoen Loop by 840m, move the existing crossover to the end of the extended loop and upgrade the signalling at the Narromine Yard.  The total cost of this project is $4.4 million. This work will enable the Narromine Yard to accommodate trains up to 1.5km long while extending the Merrygoen Loop will reduce freight journeys by up to 90 minutes. 

7. Port Waratah Yard Configuration in Newcastle. The NSW Government has committed $3.3 million to fully fund the upgrade of the Port Waratah Yard.

8. Tarago Passing Loop Extension in Goulburn. $7.7 million to extend the existing passing loop at Tarago to 1km, upgrade signalling and installing a new turnout. The total cost of the project is $8.6 million. The siding will allow trains carrying Sydney’s waste for Veolia’s Crisps Creek Intermodal Terminal to be stored off the main line. 

9. Mount Murray Loop Extension in Goulburn.  $7.5 million to fully fund the extension of the Mount Murray Loop along the Robertson to Dombarton Line. The 300 metre extension will support trains up to 1km long an increase from 41 to 62 wagons. The project will improve accessibility for these trains to travel from  Moss Vale to Port Kembla, with 3 million tonnes of freight expected to pass through a section of this track each year.