East West operators are also noticing the
completion of a long line of Nation Building
investments that have increased reliability,
capacity and improved the track strength and
robustness. Projects commissioned during the
year included:
$
292M
for 711km of new rail between
Parkes and Cootamundra and
Broken Hill and Whyalla
$
260M
for 690km of concrete sleepers
between Parkes and Broken Hill
$
32M
to construct four new crossing
loops in western Victoria
$
22M
for the Ambleside crossing loop in
the Adelaide Hills, the last of seven
1800 metre loops on the Adelaide to
Melbourne corridor.
$
16M
for rerailing curves in the track
between Port Augusta and Tarcoola
Other projects commenced
during the year include:
$
55M
payment to assist Brookfield Rail to
upgrade part of its network between
Koolyanobbing and Kalgoorlie with
stronger 60kg rail allowing heavier
trains onto the route
$
35M
signalling system upgrade
and additional crossing
infrastructure between Adelaide
and Tarcoola to improve safety
and increase capacity
The scale of investment that ARTC has made in
recent years in the form of capital upgrades to
the Interstate rail network is unprecedented.
The bulk of the funding has gone towards:
•
•
the North South corridor which required
a major track upgrade and sleeper
replacement in key sections to bring it up
to a suitable operating standard; and
•
•
development of the Southern Sydney
Freight line which will play a critical
part in operational reliability between
Melbourne and Brisbane.
The huge investment that was required in
the form of new rail, sleepers and signalling
systems has been substantively completed
and our focus will now be on maintaining
the corridor and working with our customers
to get more freight onto this key transport
route. The nature of this long term investment
cycle means that as our market share on
this corridor grows, we expect the income
generated in future years to reverse the
current partial write down (impairment
expense) of the significant up-front cost of
this investment in our annual accounts.
Capital Investment in the Interstate Network
400
200
600
0
800
Millions (
$
)
530
08/09
818
09/10
665
10/11
776
11/12
482
07/08
503
12/13
21
