Track maintenance concerns

[Operator] acknowledges the safety concerns raised in REPCON RR2026-00010 in relation to track conditions between [Location 1] and [Location 2].

The line between [track section of concern] is maintained to Class 3 standards which is suitable for operations up to a speed of 100 km/h, at the current traffic levels of at least six trains per day.

[Operator] is an accredited provider and maintainer of railway infrastructure, with a safety management system in accordance with the requirements of the Rail Safety National Law. In addition, [Operator] maintains an Enterprise Asset Management System which is independently certified to ISO55001.

[Operator] has a system of railway track management which covers:

Standards - Requirements for design, construction, configuration, inspection, and intervention limits and actions. The standards specify the operational conditions that are compatible with a defined class of infrastructure. They also outline restrictions on operations that must be applied where defects are identified. On the [Location 3] to [Location 2] line, the intervention limits are set for Class 3 track standards.

Maintenance - Inspection regime under a Technical Maintenance Plan which prescribes visual inspections for all assets at defined timeframes, periodic testing for geometry, rail integrity, and various other defined asset classes. Maintenance includes the tasks required to repair defects identified against the intervention limits. Track inspections between [Location 3] and [Location 2] are conducted by a qualified worker twice per week, with a maximum of three calendar days between inspections. A Track Geometry Recording vehicle operates along the line approximately every 13 weeks and takes a series of measurements which are classified for maintenance attention. Track and signalling maintenance staff for this corridor are based in [Location 4].

Renewals - Asset program for Major Periodic Maintenance (MPM) where a scope of work is identified from data and inspections, and planned on a programmed basis. This includes larger scope renewals such as re-sleepering cycles, level crossing renewals, ballast cleaning and replacement, and track resurfacing. 

[Operator]'s work program developed for the 2027/28 year has a large cyclic program of sleeper replacement and sectional ballast cleaning and renewal between [Location 4] and [Location 2]. The process of transitioning from all timber sleepers to timber replacement (low profile) concrete sleepers is being undertaken over successive renewal cycles.

The images provided by the REPCON of [Operator] track assets have been reviewed by our Engineering and Maintenance functions, and these broadly align with items already noted through the inspection regime and assessed for maintenance and renewal work. Intervention limits are regularly reviewed through the ongoing inspections should any more urgent works or temporary operating restrictions be identified.