Last week, Inland Rail laid its first section of new rail track in the greenfield Illabo to Stockinbingal section, as works on the largest section of new track to be delivered on the project south of Parkes gained momentum. The Illabo to Stockinbingal section involves constructing 39 kilometres of new rail track, providing a direct route from Illabo to Stockinbingal, through the existing Forbes line, bypassing Cootamundra and the steep and winding Bethungra Range with its Bethungra Spiral. As well as laying the first section of new rail track at Stockinbingal and having almost 75 per cent of the required rail delivered to the work sites, Inland Rail has also completed a significant amount of other works on the Illabo to Stockinbingal section: Works have been progressing on the construction of the new Burley Griffin Way rail overpass, with the road upgrade being conducted in stages to maintain traffic flow, and road widening works have been completed on Hibernia Street, Stockinbingal. Inland Rail has commissioned the new crossover and signalling infrastructure at Illabo Junction, which will connect the existing rail network to the new Inland Rail alignment. Works have been completed for the bridge piles at Billabong Creek, with earthworks also being conducted inside the rail corridor. “Laying the first track in the Illabo to Stockinbingal section is an important milestone for the project,” he said," Inland Rail CEO Dr Sean Sweeney said. “Works in the section are starting to gain real momentum with the Burley Griffin Way overpass also underway and the girder installation on the Dirnaseer Road overbridge due to take place soon.” Inland Rail plans to conduct bridge girder installation on the Dirnaseer Road overbridge on the weekend (10 October to 11 October).
