Austrak, which Vossloh acquired in late 2018 for around $A 50.5m ($US 35.2m), will supply approximately 280,000 concrete sleepers which are expected to be delivered in 2020.

The project will include construction of an additional line to connect Koodaideri to Rio Tinto's existing network. Production at the mine is planned to start in late 2021.

Austrak will fulfil the order from a factory in Western Australia which will also serve as a production site for further upcoming mining projects in the Pilbara region.

“We are excited to see that our recent acquisition Austrak succeeded in this tender, contributing substantial value to Vossloh shortly after acquisition,” says Vossloh CEO, Mr Andreas Busemann. “This perfectly underlines the company's strong position in Australia’s concrete sleeper market and once again confirms Vossloh’s outlook for the 2020 fiscal year, seeing an increase in sales and profitability.”

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