With the TELEBELT in the Australian Bush

After years of planning � especially with regard to the financing � the railway connection is at present under construct-ion between the Australian cities of Alice Springs in the south and Darwin in the north of the Federal State �Northern Territory�. The tracks are conducted here on elevated lines over large distances. These embankments, however, also have the same problem as dams after hefty rain fall � they prevent the flowing away of the enormous masses of water. A small TELEBELT TB 50 helps to avoid the threatening floods.

 
The next cloud-burst is a sure thing! The TELEBELT TB 50 backfills
the torn-up railway embankment under which two water pipes were previously laid.

A Drail has been awarded the contract for the construction of the 1420 km long stretch between the Australian northern coast and the largest city in the heart of the country. This is a syndicate made up of the following companies: HALLIBURTON KBB, BARCLAY MOWLEM, JOHN HOLLAND and MACMAHON. Approximately 650 workers are employed with the construction measures involved with the project.

To avoid the risk of under-washing the track bed, rain water waste pipes have to be laid below the new railway embankment. As the railway line has to be extend-ed quickly, first the complete rails have to be completed and then compacted. Only then does a 10 headed gang commence on the drainage work. The railway embankment has to be first dug up at right angles to the direction of travel, formwork placed and the waste pipes (1.2 � 1.8 m) laid and the construction material prepared for back-filling. As soon as the laying work is complete, the line section is backfilled and compacted.

Filling material is won along the line
Due to the enormous distances in the country, it is not economical to transport granulates or moist concrete mixes as filling-up material. Instead the ADrail gang take the sand and clay that lies on the left and right of the railway embankment, mixes the material with cement and water and with the mobile telescopic TELEBELT TB 50 places the relatively adhesive mix precisely above the pipes placed. The cement content of the filling material here is approximately 4% (weight).

With more than 15 m horizontal reach, the working area of the small TB 50 is just precisely dimensioned for these conveying tasks. The gang can, by the way, change from one section to another because both the Putzmeister TELEBELT and the actual construction site vehicle is extremely mobile with the towed tool wagon. The men sleep in construction site camps that are erected at greater distances to each other along the line. These camps do not just offer relatively comfortable sleeping quarters and a change for the hours off but also serve as a catering station.

Railway connection Darwin � Alice Springs
The new line connects the almost deserted north of Australia to the densely populated southern, western and eastern parts of the country. At the same time, the new line shortens the transport path between the 5th continent and Australia�s important export markets in Asia and Europe. The one-track route extends the rail line coming from Adelaide, Port Augusta and Tarcoola in the south further northward of Alice Springs.

The new railway line leads through territory that is hardly populated past Tennant Creek, Katherine and further on to the freight harbour Berrimah and ends in Darwin. The line is designed for axle loads of up to 23 tones and allows highest train speed of up to 115 km/h. Two passing points for the on-coming traffic are being erected on the 1420 km long stretch of railway. Also 15 million m3 soil had to be moved in connection with the building measures. Also 100 bridges have to be built and 1500 rain water pipes have to be laid.

After three years of construction, the new line is scheduled to start up work in 2004. Plans envisage a 2 km long freight train to travel in both directions once a day. Investments cost approximately 1.3 billion AUS (790 million EURO). The north-south connection is planned, built, financed and also initially operated by the ASIA PACIFIC TRANSPORT Syndicate � on the basis of a so-called BOOT contract (buy-own-operate-transfer). At the end of 50 years, the owner�s and service rights will be passed over to the Australian state.