Narwonah Material Distribution Centre rapidly taking shape
Inland Rail’s record-breaking Material Distribution Centre (MDC) at Narwonah, New South Wales, is rapidly taking shape with the distribution site – that will be the largest site of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere – on track to begin services in mid-2023, with 67,000m3 of topsoil stripped and more than 74,000m3 of soil already moved onsite.
February 7, 2023
The Narwonah MDC will service the Rail Corridor Program as part of the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) Inland Rail project and is one of two MDC’s servicing the future installation of ballast, sleepers, rail, and turnouts between Narromine in New South Wales and Gowrie in Queensland.
At the peak of construction around 100 people will be working on building the MDC that will facilitate construction of part of the 1700km Inland Rail alignment. The centre will process 675,000 concrete sleepers, more than 45,000 tonnes of new rail, and more than 500,000 tonnes of ballast.
Paul Hollamby, Delivery Director Rail, said:
‘Narromine is a significant location for the Inland Rail as it is the staging point for the largest greenfield section of the project between Narromine and Narrabri.
‘The vast majority of the materials to build Inland Rail will be transported from their point of manufacture to the material distribution centre at Narwonah by rail, and depart again on rail to the construction railhead where they will be placed in their final location using a Track Laying Machine.
‘In a unique way, we are using a railway to construct a new railway. This approach will utilise significant safety, environmental, and sustainability benefits by removing the requirement for tens of thousands of truck movements on interstate and local roads’.
Cr Craig Davies, Mayor of Narromine Shire, said:
‘The Narwonah Material Distribution Centre site is generating local opportunities for jobs and suppliers of goods and services in the Narromine area.
‘We saw enormous benefits materialise in Parkes when Inland Rail was under construction on the Parkes to Narromine section of the project, as well as similar benefits in Moree and Narrabri at present. Now it’s Narromine’s turn to reap the rewards’
