Upgrades for North East Rail Line delayed for months before Wallan train crash
As authorities piece together what caused the deadly train derailment at Wallan, it’s been revealed a long-awaited upgrade to a troubled section of track between Melbourne and Albury had been delayed by a year.
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A long-awaited upgrade to a troubled section of track between Melbourne and Albury had been delayed by a year, with early works beginning just months before a deadly derailment at Wallan.
The Australian Rail Track Corporation, which operates the corridor, has been grilled during Senate Estimates in Canberra quality concerns on the busy line
It comes as authorities piece together the cause behind the horrific crash.
ARTC chief executive John Fullerton said a $235 million upgrade project to fix rough riding on the network had been delayed from its 2018 start date.
“We worked as quickly as we could to get the North East Link project underway,” he said.
“But we wanted to do it in a very methodical way to ensure we got the best possible outcome in relation to the scope of works that had been agreed by ARTC and the state of Victoria.
“A lot of the early works really started in October 2019.”
Safety investigators are still probing the fatal derailment in which two people died and a dozen were injured.
Repair work was scheduled in the Wallan area at the time of the crash and it is believed the train was travelling well above the posted speed when it came off the tracks.
Authorities are investigating whether staff were aware of speed restrictions in place but will also assess other safety precautions and the quality of the track along the corridor.
Mr Fullerton told estimates the ARTC spent $6 million each year maintaining the tracks but said commuters had raised their own concerns about the railway.
Sections were upgraded 2016 but passenger trips began to deteriorate again in 2018.
“There has always been a concern expressed by the community and by senators at these hearings around the ride quality of the track as it relates to passenger services,” Mr Fullerton said.
“That led to work beginning, I think back in 2017, on the investment that would be needed to improve the ride quality.
“The attention was very much focused on the service being offered to commuters on that Albury to Melbourne corridor.
“We collectively owe it to John Kennedy, the driver from Canberra, and Sam Meintanis, the pilot from Castlemaine, to work with the investigators to understand what happened.”
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