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Australia’s busiest rail network outside of the Sydney and Melbourne suburban passenger
networks will shut down for three days next week to commission new track infrastructure,
finalise major upgrade works and carry out important maintenance.
ARTC’s Executive General Manager for the Hunter Valley network, Alec Mackenzie, said
trains would not operate on the Hunter Valley network from 6 am Tuesday 29 April through
to 11pm Thursday 1 May.
“Every Hunter Valley network closedown is a mammoth task and are the result of months of
planning and organisation,” Mr Mackenzie said.
“On average we complete around 120 projects, worth in excess of $20 million and over a
thousand workers are on the corridor, including local contractors and suppliers, stretching
from the Port in the South, out to the Ulan in the West and Narrabri in the North.
“These planned shutdowns not only allow ARTC to work network-wide but gives the entire
coal chain, from pit to port, a clear window to schedule important maintenance,” Mr
Mackenzie said.
“We take the opportunity to package as much work as possible during the closedown, as
they provide the safest, most efficient and productive windows to complete works as
possible.”
“The work increases the capacity, operational flexibility and reliability of the Hunter Valley rail
network, as well as taking the opportunity to upgrade a significant portion of track.”
“In addition to work on capacity building projects, we carry out general track maintenance
activities to maintain the safety and reliability of the track for both passenger and freight train
services,” Mr Mackenzie said.
“Pre-planned network closures of this size are scheduled over 12 months in advance and
balance the need to maintain and grow the network while minimising disruption to our
customers,” Mr Mackenzie said.
For information on impact to passenger services, customers should visit:
www.sydneytrains.info or www.nswtrainlink.info