(Incident) Blue Mountains rail line, 16-metre-deep sink hole

Getting freight back on track over the Blue Mountains, Published, 21 Mar 2022
The NSW Government is working to repair and reopen the Blue Mountains rail line, a critical freight corridor linking east and west.
A 16-metre-deep sink hole is being filled in as part of the NSW Government’s works to repair and reopen the critical western rail freight line.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway visited Leura today and received an update from Transport for NSW (TfNSW) on repair works.

“The Blue Mountains rail line is a critical freight corridor linking east with west so the TfNSW team has been working 24/7 to get the line reopened,” Mr Farraway said.

“The extent of weather damage across hundreds of metres of track, culminating in the 16-metre sink hole, is staggering. Ballast and the track base underneath was washed away, and a culvert was damaged close to the Great Western Highway.

“TfNSW and Sydney Trains have had to effectively rebuild the entire section of track, while filling in the sink hole and ensuring the area is stable for trains to run on.

“The team has done a great job and removed more than 500 tonnes of debris and we expect to be able to open the line to freight this Saturday, 26 March then to limited diesel-powered regional passenger trains such as the XPT, Bathurst Bullet, Dubbo and Broken Hill services on Monday, 28 March.

“As the electrical services are still out, the intercity fleet are expected to be back online on Friday, 8 April.”

Mr Farraway said extra resources had been deployed to fix the sink hole and surrounding areas.

“Almost 200 staff are working to restore the line using 53 items of heavy machinery, including cranes, concrete pumps, tip trucks, vacuum trucks and excavators,” Mr Farraway said.

“I have been meeting frequently with the freight industry and know how critical this route is as part of their supply chains to deliver the primary products like food, minerals and coal to the industries that rely on them.

“I thank the freight industry for its patience and collaboration during this difficult time.”

The Blue Mountains Line is currently closed between Emu Plains and Lithgow.

Transport for NSW is working on a staged approach to reopening the track to allow limited intercity passenger shuttle services between Penrith and Springwood this week, with buses continuing to replace trains between Springwood and Lithgow.

Customers are reminded to please allow extra travel time and plan ahead at transportnsw.info and using live apps.

Blue Mountains

“I’d like to acknowledge our Sydney Trains engineering and maintenance teams, who have worked around the clock to restore operations on flood-damaged sections of the network following the recent significant weather event and subsequent flooding.

Train services have now resumed between Richmond and Schofields, critical freight services have been restored over the Blue Mountains and passenger rail services to Mount Victoria, through to Lithgow and beyond are being progressively reinstated over the coming days.

Our teams worked across very challenging conditions on the Blue Mountains works, replacing and repairing signalling and overhead line equipment, stabilising track formation and rebuilding a 16-metre sinkhole caused by the flooding at Leura.

Thanks to our customers for your patience and the Sydney Trains team for your outstanding efforts over the past few weeks.”

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6914104764486090752/