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More than half the track on the $2.2 billion Epping to Chatswood rail line will have to be relaid because the “technologically advanced” glue used to stick the rails to the ground came unstuck, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Today the State Government defended the controversial “lick and stick” method of securing railway track as “about as successful as you’d expect”, but conceded that remedial work will employ more traditional means: Perkins’ Paste.
Transport Minister John Watkins also pledged to fix other problems such as tunnel clearance when he finds the safety scissors.
According to the Herald, the specifications of the adhesive were exceeded because the track gradient was increased to go under rather than over the Lane Cove River. The decision was driven by environmental concerns over potential damage to pristine lantana scrub and abandoned car habitat.
The Minister assured rail travellers that although the opening of the new line has already been postponed from June to December, there will be no further delays because the rails will be fixed in parallel with other fuck ups. Mr Watkins was also able to confirm that this time the rails will be fixed in parallel.
