Weekend trackwork jobs to be slashed by up to seven hours with new Sydney Trains machines
Sydney’s hated weekend rail works could be cut by up to seven hours per job as six new “state-of-the-art” rail machines roll out.
Fives train lines across Greater Sydney, including the T2 Inner West Line and T8 Airport Line, are scheduled for maintenance from Saturday.
Sydney Trains predicts some of these jobs will soon be completed five to seven hours earlier with the arrival of six new “incline carriages”.
The wagons are capable of carrying large-sized pre-built crossings – sections where trains cross from one line to another – along Sydney’s 1700 kilometer rail network.
Previously, attendances were made in the field during maintenance outages.
It is hoped that the rolling stock will reduce inconvenience to passengers and less time will be spent closing railway lines, as old wooden sleepers have been replaced with concrete-based trusses.
Transport Secretary John Graham said the arrival of curtain rods would give railway engineers more room to clear maintenance backlogs.
“Each piece of material carried by the railcar means one less rail work that needs to be constructed on site,” he said.
“Over time this will reduce the disruption experienced by commuters during weekend roadworks.”
Currently Sydney Trains has only two tilt carriages that have been in operation for more than two decades.
The new machines, which cost $15 million, are self-clamping and are currently being tested before joining Sydney Trains’ engineering fleet.
Sydney Trains general manager Matt Longland said the machines were safer and more efficient than their predecessors.
“The purchase of six tarpaulin wagons provides the right number to carry all rail sections of a turnout simultaneously,” he said.
“Efficiency is key when there are over 1,700km of roads and associated infrastructure on the network to maintain.
“This modernization and expansion of our track maintenance equipment will allow us to get more bang for our buck when we own the track every weekend.”
It follows a scathing independent review of Sydney’s rail system after an overhead cable failure brought the network to a halt.
The report found that multiple inspection methods implemented over the years failed to detect the problem.
Mr Graham said the government was focusing on maintenance improvements that could “deliver the reliability train passengers expect from their rail network”.
That includes $450 million to improve tracks, signals, overhead wires and drainage, as well as “maintenance-critical areas” starting at City Circle and the Homebush-Strathfield corridor, where multiple lines meet.
