Concrete sleeper manufacturer, Austrak, has revealed it will be looking to cement partnerships with other businesses to support the delivery of over a million sleepers for the 1700 km-long Inland Rail project.
Around 1.3 million sleepers will be manufactured by the company following a recent agreement between the ARTC and Austrak. Almost 700,000 standard gauge sleepers will be delivered for NSW and a further 615,000 dual gauge sleepers are earmarked for Queensland in the contract.
Austrak Managing Director, Murray Adams, revealed the company will soon “be seeking partnerships with businesses and skilled operators that can support its delivery”.
Around 60 people will be employed in Rockhampton, and 35 in Wagga Wagga, 30 of which are new positions, where they will manufacture the concrete sleepers for the future Melbourne to Brisbane rail freight line.
“It’s our biggest ever contract and recognises the capabilities of the whole Austrak team who continually produce high quality sleepers that meet the increasing demands of our customers and underpin the increasing importance that rail will play into the future,” Mr Adams said.
Austrak has already supplied 225,000 concrete sleepers for the Narrabri to North Star project in NSW, currently under construction. The 185 km existing track also requires enhancements including modifications to footbridges and road bridges and level crossings. The design and construct contractor for this rail section is expected to be announced by mid-year. The contract will be in addition to the $2.2 billion in design and construct contracts already signed for Inland Rail.
IMAGE: Austrak’s Murray Adams with Rebecca Pickering, Interim Chief Executive of ARTC Inland Rail (source).
About the author
Desi Corbett
Desi is the Editor of Concrete in Australia and at the helm of our magazine for 8 years. She was behind the Institute's weekly news bulletins from 2016-2021 and is now writing our focused news items. Desi has been an engineering news and features journalist/editor across all disciplines since 2013 - part of a 30-year career writing for a wide range of industries.