A final section of railway track duplication to service Ettamogah Rail Hub will be completed early next year after a $2.6 million federal government funding boost.
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The anticipated start of Inland Rail in 2015 is expected to see significantly increased traffic between Melbourne and Brisbane including added activity at Ettamogah with the development of the nearby Nexus industrial hub.
Project manager Rob Perkins said the project scope had become bigger than originally thought to meet standards of track owners, Australian Rail Track Corporation.
"As we got underway we realised the project was far more extensive," he said.
"(ARTC) requires a much higher standard in a whole range of items and it soon became obvious that the project couldn't be done with the money originally committed by NSW.
"We got to a point where it got beyond our means to fund the balance.
"When Inland Rail gets up and running that line will be a lot busier than what it is today."
There is only a single track presently between Albury and Ettamogah and the line will be duplicated for a distance of 3.5 kilometres between Billy Hughes Bridge to Tynan Road and past the Ettamogah hub.
The project has included earthworks, installation of culverts and upgrading signalling systems.
It is expected to be completed before the Inland Rail conference in Albury next May.
Mr Perkins said the support of federal, state and local government had been crucial.
Federal and state governments also have a financial stake in south facing ramps being added to the nearby Davey Road crossing.
"This delivers the final piece to a super-important project that fully links Albury with our vital north-south rail freight corridor," Farrer MP Sussan Ley said.
"A fully functioning rail hub and the federally funded Davey Road interchange are crucial to fully realise the enormous economic potential the Ettamogah and Nexus industrial area promises to deliver."
