Border travellers heading to Sydney or Melbourne over the weekend will be doing so by coach, and not train.
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The ARTC's major construction blitz from Saturday to Monday will see 300 workers take to 10 sites, including along the legs to each of the capital cities.
On the Victorian side, the works are both related to the North East Line upgrade and planned maintenance, and include the installation of crossovers at Violet Town and the operation of a large tamping machine realigning the track between Benalla and Albury.
V/Line Regional Manager North East Gary Dean said it was a 60-hour maintenance 'super possession'.
"These works are critical for improving track conditions on the North East Line, which will enable new VLocity trains to run between Melbourne and Albury in 2021," Mr Dean said.
"As these essential works can only be done without passenger and freight trains running, we'll need to replace train services with coaches.
"Journey times may be extended by up to 60 minutes, but we expect most express coach journey times to be just as quick as the train."
All Albury services will be replaced by coaches for the entire journey to and from Melbourne on Saturday and Sunday.
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On Monday, September 2, trains will also be replaced by coaches except for the 6:02pm service from Southern Cross to Albury, which will run as a train to the normal schedule, and the 5:20pm service from Albury to Southern Cross, which will also run as a train but depart at the later time of 6:15pm.
A NSW TrainLink spokeswoman advised that replacement coach services are running, with services to return to normal from Monday.
"Customers with a booking on these services have been advised where their train service will be replaced by coaches," she said.
Affected NSW Trainlink services are as follows:
Friday
- The overnight Sydney to Melbourne service will terminate at Albury. Coaches will replace this train service from Albury to Melbourne.
- The overnight Melbourne to Sydney service will terminate at Goulburn. Coaches will replace this train service from Goulburn to Sydney.
Saturday and Sunday
- All Melbourne, Canberra and Griffith train services are cancelled and will be replaced by coaches for the entire journey.
Monday
- The daylight Sydney to Melbourne service is cancelled and will be replaced by coaches for the entire journey.
- The daylight Melbourne to Sydney service is cancelled and will be replaced by coaches for the entire journey.
- The overnight Sydney to Melbourne service will be replaced by coaches from Sydney to Goulburn. The train will operate from Goulburn to Melbourne.
- The overnight Melbourne to Sydney service will be replaced by coaches from Melbourne to Albury. The train will operate from Albury to Sydney.
ARTC is asking communities along the rail corridor to take extra care during the shutdown period due to the increase in truck and machinery movements around work sites.
