The federal government has given the environmental green light to the Inland Rail's Narromine to Narrabri (N2N) project.
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The approval is a key step to getting the Inland Rail project back on track following an independent review of the project, led by Dr Kerry Schott.
Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton said he was pleased to learn the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water had approved the project under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Mr Coulton said the Inland Rail as a project included 13 stages, some of which were already completed in his electorate, including Parkes to Narromine and Narrabri to Moree.
He said these completed sections had already created hundreds of jobs, increased productivity and lifted freight efficiency for farmers.
Mr Coulton said the N2N project was great but there had been a lot of "uncertainty and unnecessary delay" due to actions by the federal government.
He said the NSW government had approved the N2N project 12 months ago so there was "no need to drag this out for as long" as the federal government had.
"It is vital the N2N project commences work as soon as possible so that the positive impacts on my electorate are not lost," Mr Coulton said.
"I will always defend the work that has already been done on the Inland Rail project; all those involved should be proud of what they've achieved.
"I again urge the government to signal its commitment to this magnificent piece of infrastructure and provide certainty to residents in the Narromine to Narrabri section.
"It's time to get on with the job."
The N2N project will be Inland Rail's longest stretch of new rail and is a key link in the future Inland Rail supply chain.
When constructed, N2N will link the completed Parkes to Narromine and Narrabri to North Star Phase 1 projects. This will provide new freight capacity and improved connectivity to ports on the east coast and westwards.
