Inland Rail: Parks to Narromine

Inland Rail is a once-in-a-generation project, building a railway line from Melbourne direct to Brisbane through Parkes NSW. It will allow double stacked containers to travel in a transit time of 24 hours or less, competing directly with road transport. This project completes the national freight network between Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

5.3km of new rail was required to be constructed at Parkes to allow a link with the Sydney, Broken Hill and Perth railway lines. The remainder of the project required upgrading 98.4km of existing rail track, including a full rebuild of the rail tracks, rail formation and supporting structures in the exiting rail corridor.

Geofabrics met with the designers on numerous occasions to refine the foundation design of the railway, as construction was required to pass over weak subgrades. Various options were considered including the removal of poor subgrades.