- Major closedown of the East West railway line from Western Australia to Victoria
- Works occurring between Kalgoorlie (WA) to Little River (Vic) from Wednesday 3 September to Sunday 7 September
- Essential maintenance and infrastructure upgrades will maintain high safety and reliability standards
The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) will carry out essential maintenance and infrastructure upgrades on the interstate railway next week between Western Australia and Victoria.
During the work, the railway line will be closed in stages between:
- Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and Two Wells in South Australia from 12pm Wednesday 3 September to 3am Sunday 7 September.
- Mile End in South Australia to Little River in Victoria from 6am Thursday 4 September to 4pm Sunday 7 September.
The shutdown is part of ARTC's annual maintenance program and is a significant investment in the network.
Maintenance activities will be undertaken across more than 30 worksites and include level crossing upgrades, replacement of rail, resleepering, structure repairs, and track reconditioning works which will keep the network running safely and efficiently.
In addition to maintenance, four culverts will be replaced with new reinforced concrete box culverts between Bookaloo near Port Augusta and Tarcoola in South Australia. The upgrades are being delivered as part of a $1billion Network Investment Program - jointly funded by the Australian Government and ARTC – to mitigate flood risk and boost the resilience and reliability of our rail network.
The works have been scheduled to enable the running of the Indian Pacific to Kalgoorlie, while bus services will replace the Overland between Adelaide and Melbourne in both directions. Customers requiring information about their trip should contact Journey Beyond directly or call 13 21 47.
Information on road closures, diversions and alternative routes can be found at Traffic SA and VicTraffic.
ARTC is reminding motorists and pedestrians to remain vigilant for altered traffic conditions near the rail corridor, pay attention to signage and to obey all road rules at level crossings, with rail machinery and freight train movements still occurring on the adjacent rail lines.
Clinton Crump, Group Executive Operations, ARTC, said:
"Regular maintenance and upgrades of the East West railway are essential to its continued role in the economic supply chain, providing vital links for travellers and keeping supermarket shelves well-stocked.
"Key to the works will be the culvert upgrades being delivered under the Network Investment Program - a $1billion resilience building partnership with the Australian Government which includes significant scope targeted at improving flood resilience and immunity in critical areas of the network.
"ARTC has worked with rail operators to minimise disruption to our customers - particularly for passengers of The Overland and Indian Pacific.
"ARTC would like to thank the communities along the rail line for their patience while these critical, long-term improvements take place."
