I have actually spoken to DTEI about the cost of rebuilding lines when I was inquiring about the track up to Riverton last year (when I was living there), and it starts at about $1 million per kilometre for basic renewal where only sleepers, ballast, etc. need work....
Believe that and you'll believe anything
Basic rehab would be 20-25% of those quoted costs.
Exactly..... we were building Pilbara heavy haul railways in late 2007 for under $2m per kilometre with everything (earthworks, track, signalling, etc) for Rio Tinto, Bing's comments on cost are spot on.......
Trust me - when dealing with government departments, their costings are well above what the contractor will do it for, by a large factor...... My current job is working for a government department by being seconded from a private contractor, and the money being discussed would gold plate every turd from here to the east coast.....
