The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) and Transport for NSW (TfNSW) are collaborating to repair damaged sections of the Wallan loop following the XPT train derailment north of Melbourne last week.

On Tuesday, February 25, the front power car of the train was loaded onto a truck and removed from the site.

An ARTC spokesperson said two carriages will be taken to Sydney in the coming days before the trucks return and pick up the remaining two carriages later this week.

As of the afternoon of February 25, around three quarters of sleepers have been laid, half of the rail has been laid, signalling repairs are underway and ballasting continues.

“The main line in the immediate vicinity of the accident has been inspected, with no significant damage reported,” the ARTC spokesperson said.

Early works like ballast and track improvement, improvements to timber bridges, level crossing renewals and installation of new rail crossovers, have been ongoing since last year part of the federal Government funded $235m North East Rail Line upgrade.

An ARTC spokesperson said site set up and establishment of the major contractor’s office commenced in December and works have started, commencing from Wodonga, moving south.

Ballast trains have been delivering ballast to various work sites for a number of weeks.

Targeted track tamping program has been operating since October 2019 and 130km of tamping has been completed.

Two track tamping machines are stationed in north east Victoria for ongoing use.

“Our primary focus, and key priority at all times, is to run a safe railway network for our customers and those that use it. ARTC will continue to provide all the support we can to both the investigation and response to this incident. The investigation will be complex and consider a range of factors,” an ARTC spokesperson said.

TfNSW said in a statement the NSW Government is working closely with colleagues in Victoria and the Federal Government to investigate how the accident occurred.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and the Office of the National Rail Safety Regulator (ONRSR) will conduct a full and thorough investigation to establish the cause of the incident.

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