Post Date: 7 August 2015

June 2015 saw Mitchel Hanlon Consulting (MHC) complete 150 km of survey control traversing and 100 km of track survey and design for John Holland Rail Country Rail Network (JHR CRN).

The tender brief required the track design be applied that would allow trains to operate at a track speed of 80 km/hr but where track lateral shifts or “pull” would be minimal. At times, this was difficult to achieve as the original alignment was designed for the steam era and some sections of track were a serious of reverse curves with no intermediate straight section in which superelevation or cant could be transitioned.
 

The work to complete the project comprised of:

• installation of permanent survey control marks along the length of the section.
• the undertaking of surveys to establish Map Grid of Australia coordinates on the control marks.
• the survey of the existing track running face on the curves and parts of the straights.
• the track re-design to enable the track class specification whilst minimising the amount of lateral track "pulls".
• the placement of sufficient track construction marks (TCMs) at each curve to allow the tamping crews to "pull" the track to the design geometry.
   

Survey work commenced in February 2015 with final project document delivery in August 2015.