Inland Rail will use the upcoming rail possession from March 22-24 to apply some of the finishing touches to the Stockinbingal to Parkes (S2P) section of the project, with Inland Rail on course to finish S2P on schedule in mid-2025.

The rail possession, where the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) line from Forbes to Goobang Junction is closed, will permit our contractor Martinus Rail to carry out works on sites in the S2P section which would be hazardous if trains were still running.

At the Lachlan River Bridge, plant and equipment will be delivered using heavy vehicles, after which there will be paint stripping, drilling existing beams to enable the addition of new strengthening plates, as well as the installation of new strengthening plates on the underside of the bridge.

Further south at Wirrinya, plant and equipment will be delivered using heavy vehicles, after which there will be drainage works, track tamping and track alignment.

Other sites on S2P such as the Daroobalgie Crossing Loop and Wyndham Avenue track lower will continue to undergo finishing work to access roads, landscaping and drainage during normal hours, meaning there will be no night work.

The rail possession will start at 6am on Saturday 22nd March and finish 60 hours later at 6pm on Monday 24th March.

Inland Rail has spent more than $10.5 million with 107 local businesses on the project between Stockinbingal and Parkes.

On the same section, Inland Rail has employed a total of 574 people.

173 of the total are local residents, and 57 of the total are women.

54 of the total workers on the project are First Nations People.

Of the 173 local residents, 29 are First Nations People.

Malcolm Clark, Inland Rail Project Director, Stockinbingal to Parkes, said:

“The tight teamwork and integration of Inland Rail and contractor Martinus Rail has enabled us to make great strides towards completion of the Stockinbingal to Parkes section of Inland Rail.

“The lion’s share of the work has been completed and the March 2025 possession will help us perform tasks which require closure of the rail line to carry out safely.

“We are committed to delivering Inland Rail South of Parkes in 2027 and I am looking forward to seeing S2P completed by the middle of this year.

“We are grateful to all of the businesses and communities who made contributions to this section of the Project and who have enabled us to achieve so much during our time here.”

For more information on the works, visit our works notifications page.