ARTC awards $200m contract to McConnell Dowell to begin construction for Inland Rail in Victoria

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Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) selects McConnell Dowell as the main contractor for Inland Rail Tottenham to Albury package, with construction expected to be completed by 2025.

With environmental approvals and a civil works contractor appointed, Inland Rail’s construction is set to deliver vital local stimulus and support hundreds of jobs for Victorians.

The contract is expected to support work for more than 170 people directly employed with McConnell Dowell over the project’s life – expected to be complete in 2025.

“McConnell Dowell has already carried out initial design and preparatory works at four sites on the existing North East Rail Line to enable Inland Rail double-stacked freight trains to run between Beveridge and Albury,” says ARTC Victoria and South Australia Projects General Manager Ed Walker. 

“Now they have been confirmed as the construction contractor for sites in the first tranche, they will get on with the job of building the designs they have been developing,” says ARTC Victoria and South Australia Projects General Manager Ed Walker. 

“We’ve selected McConnell Dowell based on their experience delivering major projects including multi-million rail, bridges, railway stations and roads both in Australia and New Zealand and globally,” says ARTC Victoria and South Australia Projects General Manager Ed Walker. 

Construction in the first tranche of Inland Rail works involves upgrades to existing infrastructure:

  • Seymour-Avenel Road bridge in Seymour.
  • Murray Valley Highway in Barnawartha North.
  • Wangaratta Station Precinct, Wangaratta.
  • Beaconsfield Parade precinct in Glenrowan.

“Tranche 1 of Inland Rail in Victoria will bring tens of millions of dollars of new investment into Victorian towns such as Wangaratta, Glenrowan, Seymour and Barnawartha, and McConnell Dowell is extremely proud to have a part to play in this,” says McConnell Dowell T2A Project Manager Tom Foley. 

McConnell Dowell will also deliver corridor-wide works as part of the new contract, including signalling, track slews and overhead utilities.

“The award of this construction contract follows all primary planning and environmental approvals for Inland Rail in Victoria being obtained at the end of September, which means we can get on with delivering Inland Rail,” says ARTC Victoria and South Australia Projects General Manager Ed Walker. 

“Our team has worked night and day with the ARTC Inland Rail team over the past two years to make this vision a reality; we are very much looking forward to getting boots on the ground and building infrastructure that will change the way that freight moves around Australia for our future generations,” says McConnell Dowell T2A Project Manager Tom Foley. 

“Construction activity will bring opportunities for businesses to participate in delivering the work, but there will also be a positive flow-on effect for motels, retailers, cafes and restaurants through to a range of service providers who will reap the benefits of the project,” says ARTC Victoria and South Australia Projects General Manager Ed Walker. 

The nation-building Inland Rail project continues to take shape, supporting more jobs and economic opportunities in regional communities and improving Australia’s freight network.

Click here to read more about the Inland Rail in Victoria. 

Source: © Australia Rail Track Corporation | Inland Rail | © McConnell Dowell 2022

Image source: © Australia Rail Track Corporation | Inland Rail

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