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Safety and reliability on the Mount Isa line has never been better with completion of $25 million worth of track upgrades between Cloncurry and Mount Isa.
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the investment by the Palaszczuk Labor Government would benefit Queensland's freight and tourist industries.
“In just 20 days, we say 24 kilometres of the Mount Isa line upgraded as part of a $25 million investment by this government," Mr Bailey said.
“In a mammoth effort by more than 200 Queensland Rail employees and contractors, 96,000 tonnes of ballast and 35,000 concrete sleepers were replaced, with 10 kilometres of new rail also installed.
“This backs in $379 million in capital upgrades and maintenance to be delivered over the next five years.
“Our commitment to the Mount Isa line demonstrated how serious we are in helping to take trucks off the road, and better connected our North West Queensland communities.
“It's this level of commitment that you will only see from a strong state Labor Government."
Queensland Rail Head of Regional Jim Benstead said even though the last few months had presented some challenges with extreme weather conditions and the derailment of a freight train, Queensland Rail was committed to bolstering the resilience of the line for freight customers and passengers.
“For the first time in history we shut down the line for two ten-day periods which aligned with major maintenance and train-free periods at the mine sites in June, and we're proud of the works accomplished by the taskforce in collaboration with the mining sector and operators, despite challenging weather conditions at times," Mr Benstead said.
“A huge thank you goes to the Queensland Rail workers and contractors who executed this work successfully – completing two years of work in just 20 days."
Mr Benstead said shortly after the works were completed in June, the derailment of a third-party freight train on the Mount Isa line east of where the works took place, brought services to a holt as crews and materials were brought in from across Queensland to get the line back up and running and safely and quickly as possible.
“In just over a week, a crew of more than 100 people repaired more than 9 kilometres track between Nelia and Nonda, replacing 4,500 sleepers which were damaged in the incident.
“Combined with the track upgrades completed prior to the derailment, these works have bolstered safety, reliability and freight efficiency by allowing increased travel speeds on the critical freight path which sees an average of more than 3500 trains run between Cloncurry and Mount Isa each year."
Mr Benstead said the works also provided a welcome boost to local economies with workers staying and spending in Mount Isa and Cloncurry.
He said with works complete, Queensland Rail was in the process of donating a section of the original track which was historically dated along with a framed picture series to Cloncurry Council's local museum, allowing an important part of rail history to live on.
ENDS