THE Narrabri-to-North-Star section of the Inland Rail is on track to be the second project completed out of 13 between Melbourne and Brisbane.
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The environmental impact statement (EIS) on this 188km section will be released for public comment in November.
This puts the Moree-centred section behind only the Parkes-to-Narromine leg in terms of progress towards completion.
The ARTC Inland Rail project team visited Moree late last month to give the council an update on the Narrabri-to-North-Star line, which runs through the shire.
Consultation
Council executive projects manager John Carleton said the councillors and staff at the meeting were “very buoyed by the update”.
“The EIS process is a great opportunity for the public to review the development and provide comment on the Inland Rail project,” Mr Carleton said.
He said the statement would be on public display for 30 days, including at the council’s administration building, on the Department of Planning and Environment website, and at ARTC community drop-in sessions.
They could provide feedback in several ways, including directly to the ARTC at community sessions, and via an online survey.
Feedback could include “information about flooding and stock movements; cultural and Australian heritage, as well as agricultural land use and regional potential”, according to the Inland Rail project team.
Nation-building
Deputy mayor Stephen Ritchie said the council was “committed to help drive the Inland Rail”.
“[It’s] a nation-building infrastructure project that has the potential to reduce freight cost for our farmers, making local producers globally competitive and boosting inland regional economies significantly,” Mr Ritchie said.
The Narrabri-North-Star and Parkes-Narromine sections are priority projects among the 13 legs of the Inland Rail, according to a spokeperson.
“Those areas would bring an immediate economic return to those regional areas, and have social impacts and other benefits from that infrastructure,” Mr Carleton said.
“The whole issue is trying to get the interface between road and rail so they benefit one another.
“Where that happens, safety goes up in communities, there’s less trucks on the road, there’s less cost on local government who have to maintain the local roads where all the trucks run.
“Long-haul truck companies could be turning ’round to be short-haul companies, it’s more profitable, there’s less wear and tear on vehicles, and drivers can be home with their families at night, so there’s a social benefit, too.”