THE $235 million repair job on the North-East railway line won’t start this year.
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The much anticipated release of scope of works still can’t be confirmed due largely to the additional investment of $135 million made by the federal government less than two months ago after planning had commenced on the best use of an initial $100 million announced 12 months ago.
An update on the status of the planning was made to the Hume Corridor Passenger Rail Collaboration Group and Border Rail Action Group on Thursday.
Project team establishment, geotechnical work, environmental and risk assessments, signalling and civil design, delivery planning scheduling are presently being done.
Priority works will include mud hole removal, turnout upgrades, signalling, bridge upgrades, and increasing the ballast depths of the track.
BRAG spokesman Bill Traill said he had faith in the ARTC.
“The ARTC have really demonstrated they have learnt from the lessons of the past in terms of their poor planning,” he said.
“They are genuine in not repeating the mistakes of the past and it is a delay we need to tolerate.”
But Mr Traill said he couldn’t understand the Victorian Government’s decision to wait for the track to be upgraded before replacement VLocity trains were purchased.
“They’ve got Commonwealth money, which normally wouldn’t be applied to state rail, in their hands, but they are not prepared to put that money on the table and be immediately applied to the line,” he said.
“The line is far from de-based because the XPT on the same track does 130km/h regularly.”
The ARTC is making improvements in the short term.