There has been a spotlight on Inland Rail in Narrabri over the past couple of weeks.
As I have said previously, almost 15 years of work by ARTC and world-leading engineering experts, has gone into designing the Narromine to Narrabri section.
Two weeks ago, I committed to updating the local community on the outcome of some meetings and activities in Narrabri.
Since then, the Australian Rail Track Corporation has announced there will be a modification to the bridge on the Walgett Branch Line which would allow double-stacked trains to pass under and further boost freight opportunities in north west New South Wales.
Last week, the Inland Rail team presented at Community Consultative Committee meetings in Gilgandra, Narromine and Narrabri to check in with communities, answer questions and further understand their concerns.
These meetings are important opportunities to speak to the team that is delivering the work and understand why certain decisions are being made.
The meetings that were held over the past week concentrated on the environmental impact statement (EIS) process with a particular focus on route selection, flood modelling and fauna mitigation measures.
Part of our commitment also included meeting with some local representatives in Narrabri to discuss the confirmed route in more detail.
This meeting stemmed from the Nationals Party meeting in Narrabri last month.
The project team carried out this commitment last week and explained that the design of the route is required to meet strict checks and balances with regards to the identification and mitigation of flood risk before construction can begin.
We shared this flood modelling, which doesn’t impact the township, and guided them through the process we are continuing to undertake to optimise design and mitigate risks where necessary.
Across the past week, we have also followed through on our promise to update the Inland Rail route history document.
This document goes into detail about the current and preferred route.
We will continue to keep the community updated and please remember our Narrabri shopfront at 85 Maitland Street if you wish to speak with one of our team.
Rebecca Pickering, Interim chief executive, Inland Rail
To order photos from this page click here
Richard Barry continues fight for Vietnam National Servicemen’s campaign medal
Richard Barry OAM, of Narrabri, a National Service veteran of the Vietnam War, has for many years campaigned for medal recognition for a cohort of Australia’s National Service soldiers who served in the war. He tabled the following at a Narrabri RSL Sub-branch meeting in April and was unanimously supported by members: This is a complicated issue with a chequered history. I’ll abbreviate it to the best of my ability. In 1996 a group of my mates were discussing the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal (RVCM). They said blokes not entitled were wearing it whereas others who endured heavy battlefield […]