After many months of hard work, the costings to reopen the railway north of Armidale in New South Wales have started to be finalised with the cost for stage 1 now finalised.
The costings for stage 1 are the result of collaboration between Northern Regional Railway Company Pty Ltd (NRRC) and New England Railway Incorporated (NERI). Without the efforts of NERI volunteers, the task of exploring every inch of the line would have been extremely harder.
The Study
The study used a degradation study methodology to look at how degraded the current railway and supporting infrastructure is, and the cost to bring this infrastructure back up to a range of standards. These standards are based on axle load and running speed. Qualified track inspectors oversaw this process with input from rail engineers.
Pricing input was gained from 14 rail and infrastructure companies/contractors. The infrastructure standards are based on the current NSW track standards which are currently used on the Country Rail Network.
Inspections were carried out by walking the track. Additional satellite imagery and drones were also used. It is our understanding that this is the first time since the last train ran that such an extensive study has been undertaken.
Cost Comparisons
The final costings were also compared to previous studies. The previous studies were significantly higher than the costs shown by this study, especially as the track and infrastructure in most locations are in surprisingly good condition. After much research, it was found that a previous study was being relied upon by local councils to support closure of the current line, based on the price of building a completely new greenfield site railway to a standard that would allow the heaviest of coal trains to run. This pricing included purchasing land, which is not required when the rail corridor already exists.
The current study is based on 22 tonne axle load trains with a future maximum speed of up to 145 km/h.
Stage 1
Stage 1 of the study covered a distance of 93 km from Armidale to the east of the New England Highway at Stonehenge. The reason stage 1 finishes on the eastern side of the highway is because Transport for New South Wales wants an extensive risk management system in place before the railway will be permitted to cross the highway. This is currently being worked on, and we understand the proposed rail trail is currently subject to the same requirements.
The final costings below do not include any upgrades to stations or platforms beyond making them safe for a train to pass. The degradation study does however include the actual cost of returning these to full use, including making them fit for purpose for modern trains. The average cost for each platform/station is between $250,000 and $1 million.
The final costings also do not cover full rail replacement as most of the rails are in good condition and still useable. There is a recommendation that annual maintenance costs budget for rail replacement over a 10-year period.
The final costs are (note the running levels are our internal naming conventions):
| Running Level 1 | Running Level1A | Running Level 2 | Running Level 3 |
Track Bed | Nil. Current structures remain in place. | Road base with compaction. | Road base with compaction. | Road base with compaction. |
Ballast | Nil ballast applied. Current ballast maintained. | Ballast base. Ballast top to heigh to support recycled steel or timber sleepers. | Full ballast base and partial overballast. | Full ballast base and overballast. |
Bridges and Viaducts | 22 tonne axle load. New structures capable of supporting 145 km/h. Repaired structures to a 50km/h standard. | Minimum running level 2 standard. | Minimum 22 tonne axle load and 110km/h capability. | Minimum 22 tonne axle load and 110km/h capability. |
Level Crossings | Replace all sleepers with medium concrete sleepers. All level crossing static type B or D. | Replace all sleepers with medium concrete sleepers. All level crossing static type B or D. | All crossing to be upgraded with medium level concrete sleepers. All private crossing to be static type B or D except where risk assessment determines the requirement for a type F. Public road with train speeds over 70km/h or with significant vehicle traffic, or having limited visual to be a type F crossing. Requirement for booms determined on risk assessment. | All crossing to be upgraded with medium level concrete sleepers. All private crossing to be static type B or D except where risk assessment determines the requirement for a type F. Public roads with train speeds over 70km/h or with significant vehicle traffic, or having limited visual to be a type F crossing. Requirement for booms determined on risk assessment. |
Sleepers | 1 in 4 steel sleeper pattern. Greater configuration where curves require | 1 in 4 medium concrete sleeper pattern. Further support from recycled sleepers to reduce track movement | Full steel sleeper consist. | Full medium concrete sleeper consist. |
Proposed Running Speed | 20 – 30km/h | 50 – 60 km/h on straight track. Lower on curves depending on track radius. | Up to 110km/h. Note: running speeds may be reduced to 80km/h due to recycled track | Up to 145 km/h. Note: running speeds may be reduced to 80km/h due to recycled track. |
Total Cost | $40,375,000 | $52,125,000 | $86,550,000 | $94,075,000 |
Cost per km | $434,140 | $560,484 | $930,645 | $1,011,559 |
Degradation Study Availability
The degradation study is privately funded and therefore will not be released publicly. As part of the application for access, the degradation study will be submitted to UGL Regional Linx and Transport for New South Wales. This will form part of a greater bundle of documents.
If anyone wishes to purchase a copy of the final degradation study report, then they would need to cover the cost of the study and the writing of the report by making a $148,000 donation to New England Railway Inc.
Comments