The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has awarded Arcadis, the leading global Design and consultancy firm for natural and built assets, a contract worth more than $30 million for signalling and signalling civil design for significant sections of the Inland Rail project.
Arcadis will deliver the design of rail signalling systems from concept through to final commissioning for these sections of Inland Rail over the life of the project.
ARTC Inland Rail Chief Executive Officer Richard Wankmuller welcomed Inland Rail’s new partnership and its potential to create 20 new jobs over the next five years for the project.
“Inland Rail is going to change freight in Australia, creating opportunity in the regions with large investment and generating employment,” he said.
“The value of this once-in-a-generation infrastructure project is much more than improving our supply chain to move our goods, it is creating thousands of jobs by its construction."
Mr Wankmuller said there were also benefits of having a significant component of the signalling and signalling civil design work delivered by a single team.
“This is a specialised aspect of the Inland Rail project and by engaging one company to deliver the majority of this important body of design work there will be a consistency of quality and a more efficient use of resources across the program,” he said.
“Economically, it makes sense too, because it has reduced the need to hire scarce signalling design experts for each of the individual projects under the program delivery strategy,” he said.
The core design team will be located in Sydney and Brisbane with regional resources at Bathurst, Orange and Mudgee to support signal sighting and various site works.
Arcadis AusPac CEO, Malcolm McDowall “The Inland Rail Systems Program is one of the most significant infrastructure projects for Australia. The Inland Rail Systems Program is a transformative project, which will reduce freight costs, boost the economy, and help reduce carbon emissions, providing ongoing benefits to Australia.
Arcadis will utilise its highly experienced team to deliver the signalling and signalling civil design from concept through to final commissioning for each of the Inland Rail sub-projects over a six-year period.
We are proud to have been selected by ARTC and are looking forward to working with our partners to support our Australian communities.”
Inland Rail signalling and trackside infrastructure will be designed and delivered to integrate with the Advanced Train Management System, supporting enhanced rail safety and freight efficiency across the national network.
After a competitive tender process, the signalling design services commenced in November 2020 with an expected completion date in 2025.
