The Tottenham to Albury (T2A) section is the only section of the Inland Rail Freight Corridor traversing Victoria. The project comprises the upgrade of existing structures along 305 kilometres of existing rail corridor – the North East Rail Line (NERL) – between metropolitan Melbourne and the Victoria-NSW border at Albury, to enable the operation of double-stacked freight trains.
Due to its scale and complexity, this project is broken into two stages:
- Stage One: Beveridge to Albury
- Stage Two: Metropolitan Melbourne (south of Beveridge)
Stage One of the project comprises enhancements of 12 sites along the North East Rail Line from Beveridge to Albury. The sites are:
- Broadford-Wandong Road bridge, Wandong
- Hamilton Street bridge, Broadford
- Short Street bridge, Broadford
- Marchbanks Road bridge, Broadford
- Hume Highway bridge, Tallarook
- Seymour-Avenel Road bridge, Seymour
- Hume Highway bridge, Seymour
- Anderson Street bridge, Euroa
- Benalla Station Approach Road, Benalla
- Beaconsfield Parade bridge, Glenrowan
- Wangaratta Station Precinct, Wangaratta
- Murray Valley Highway, Barnawartha North
Work at the sites comprise of:
- track lowering
- replacing existing bridges with taller ones
- removing footbridges
- building a pedestrian underpass
- track slews
- relocating or raising signal gantries, and
- modifying or relocating overhead power poles.
As of March 2021, Stage Two of the project, Metropolitan Melbourne – south of Beveridge, was on hold while an investigation was carried to determine the location, configuration and timing of a new intermodal terminal in Melbourne. The new terminal is a complementary development to Inland Rail, funded and delivered externally to the ARTC.
T2A project development has been undertaken with consideration to the separate $235 million North East Line Upgrade, undertaken by ARTC through the Victorian Government's Regional Rail Revival program. ARTC shares the T2A rail corridor with V/Line passenger train operations, the Sydney-Melbourne XPT and suburban Melbourne trains.
In March 2018, the Victorian and Federal governments signed a bilateral agreement for the project, which includes commitments to negotiate a new long-term lease with ARTC, and for the Victorian Government to accommodate any changes to the NERL required for Inland Rail.
Key Dates
| Jun 2020 | EOIs Open |
| Jul 2020 | EOIs Close |
| Jun 2021 | Expected Contract Award |
| Jul 2022 | Expected Construction Commencement |
| Nov 2022 | Contract Award |
| Dec 2025 | Expected Construction Completion |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) |
| Successful Tenderer: | McConnell Dowell |
| Procurement note: | The Stage One main works procurement aims to shortlist dual Early Contractor Involvement contractors by August 2020, and select a Design and Construct contractor by early 2021. |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Jun 2020 | The ARTC opened Expressions of Interest for Stage One main works of the project. With EOIs closing on 13 July 2020, the procurement aims to shortlist dual Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contractors by August 2020, and select a Design and Construct contractor by early 2021. |
| Aug 2020 | The Victorian Minister for Planning confirmed the project does not require assessment through an Environment Effects Statement (EES). The ARTC was required to follow conditions including the completion and acceptance of an environment report and environmental management framework, in consultation with the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). |
| Oct 2022 | McConnell Dowell has been awarded the contract for Stage 1 of T2A works. Work is expected to be completed by 2025. |
