Vossloh has received an order from the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to supply 250,000 concrete sleepers for the approximately 170 km line for rail freight transport between Maroona and Portland in the federal state of Victoria. By replacing the old wooden sleepers with concrete sleepers, ARTC will modernise the line to remove current restrictions on axle loads of 19 t instead of 23 t, and operating speeds of 40 km/h instead of 80 km/h. Production of the sleepers is scheduled for completion by August 2027, with Vossloh manufacturing 220,000 sleepers at its Wagga Wagga plant and 30,000 sleepers at its Geelong plant. The modernisation will be financed with approximately EUR 89 million (AUD 150 million) from Australian government funds.
