Elleker residents concerned about damage to homes from Arc Infrastructure Great Southern Railway sleeper works

Rattling furniture, cracks in the walls and vibrations that make it hard to sleep — residents near the railway line in Elleker are at their “wits’ end” after the track’s old sleepers were replaced with concrete ones. Long-time Elleker resident Tracey Margetts, whose Lower Denmark Road home sits less than 100m from the track, thought she and her husband Trevor were alone in experiencing increased vibrations when the new concrete sleepers were added to the Great Southern Railway in early December last year. “It’s a quite spread-out community and not everyone knows everyone,” she said. “We thought it was only us but as soon as we started delving into it we found out a lot of people were having the same issues. “There are people who have lived here 20, 30, 40, 50 years and haven’t experienced this before. “It’s not just us who are right next to it feeling it either — there’s people a fair way out who are feeling it too. “We believe it’s due to the new sleepers as no one has ever had a problem before they came in. “We are at our wits’ end.” Arc Infrastructure started the sleeper replacement and removal of “redundant” infrastructure works on the Great Southern Railway south of Redmond in late 2024 and will continue along the line to Mt Melville until March. A works notification on its website says though nearby residents should expect more noise, vehicles and some dust, “all practical efforts have been made to minimise the disturbance”. Mr Margetts said new cracks in their 1930s home were appearing each week. “I’ve worked on this house for the last 20 years,” he said. “To watch it being ripped apart absolutely breaks my heart. “I’m never one to complain about anything but this, it’s really been playing on me.” Newer builds are reportedly faring even worse, with another resident — who asked not to be named — seeing visible cracks in the plaster cornices and bricks near the ceiling of his seven-year-old home. The couple helped organise a community meeting at the Elleker Town Hall on February 8, where the 20 attendees formed a working group to present their concerns to Arc. “It’s quite concerning and it’s been a lot of stress for everyone,” Ms Margetts said. “We want something done before (Arc) leave Albany. We’ve got a committee together then if it’s not sorted, we’ll get a lawyer for a class action.” An Arc spokesperson said the company had been made aware of community concerns during the course of the “essential rail maintenance works”. “While there is no reason to expect that the works undertaken would have led to an increase in vibration levels, Arc is taking the matter seriously,” they said. “In response to community concerns, Arc will engage a third party to conduct independent vibration monitoring and will update the community once the independent monitoring has been completed.” Arc holds the State Government contract to manage all 5500km of the WA freight rail network. Ms Margetts said the prospect of moving has entered the couple’s — and their neighbours’ — minds. “It’s a nightly ritual, waking up to feel the house shaking like an earthquake is coming through it,” she said. A second community meeting will be held at the Elleker Town Hall on Saturday.