‘Re-examine the route’ suggests businessman

ARTC has undertaken an extensive program of information meetings seeking community input on the proposed Inland Rail project.

Narrabri businessman Tim Logan has attended and has offered his suggestions about the Inland Rail study area past Narrabri in a letter to the editor:

In my opinion, the proposed route runs too close to Narrabri residential areas, it will be noisy and disruptive to residents.

And it is not necessary that the track runs where it is proposed.

It would be more cost effective to take a slightly different route which would take the railway 10 kilometres away from the town – and put it in closer proximity to the proposed Northern NSW Inland Port, the Narrabri industrial and logistic hub.

This issue is too important to the community and to the cost of the project not to raise this matter now.

Time is running out, as a final route decision will be made soon.

I support the Inland Rail project as a great initiative for the regions and the nation.

However I have serious concerns, and suggestions:

The ARTC proposed route appears to be quite expensive.

1. Five bridges are necessary compared with my proposal which has one bridge.

2. Fifty properties close to town are affected, with the commensurate costs of resumptions, versus five with the route down Kiandool.

3. Good land will be lost versus no cotton farm land lost.

4. The speed of train travel can be maintained at 115 kmh on my proposed route compared with the curved route where even if the line is cambered the trains will probably have to slow down to 80kmh.

5. Curved tracks are very noisy, with heavy double stacked cars grinding against the lines – and there may ultimately be 20 trains a day. This will be intrusive. I estimate the trains will take three minutes to pass a point, and there will be noise ahead and behind the passing train.

6. There will be no need to have such a length of elevated track as the ARTC proposal. Bohena Creek is a flood area.

7. Land resumption costs will be less further from town.

8. We should plan for a future bypass which could be used for both rail and road transport over the Namoi River.

9. If people choose to move away from the currently proposed route they will pay more to establish a new home.

10. The real estate values of properties in Elizabeth Street and Braelock Estate may be affected.

11. This is a very long term project – the railway has a life of 100 years at least. If we locate the railway line too close to town it will be too expensive to move it further out of town later on.

12. The council will lose rate revenue because real estate values will decrease on the railway side of town.

13. This will be a major national route, so there will probably need to be another parallel track built next to it in the next 50 years or less. There are track sidings but it takes time to slow the train, enter the siding and then get up to speed again when the Melbourne bound trains go past Brisbane bound trains.

Tim Logan (Narrabri)