Key section of $10.9b Inland Rail on track

A MAJOR Toowoomba rail business yesterday welcomed news that the third Queensland stage of the $10.9 billion Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail Project has been declared a coordinated project.

The state’s independent Coordinator-General made the declaration yesterday.

State Development Minister Dr Anthony Lynham said the $1.2 billion section covering 53km from Calvert to Kagaru would require an environmental impact statement to be prepared.

InterLinkSQ chief executive officer Michelle Reynolds welcomed the news which said paved the way for a standard gauge track from Toowoomba to Brisbane.

The declaration means the sections are entering in the planning and development stage.

Ms Reynolds said planning was under way from outside the InterLink SQ siding to the Kagaru section in the Brisbane Valley.

“That part links us to the port of Brisbane,” she said.

“It’s brilliant for our region and will connect our region down the port with a standard gauage line.

“It’s critical we get that part going.”

“This section could create up to 1600 jobs during its four-year construction phase starting in 2020 and 700 jobs during operation for the entire program,” Dr Lynham said.

“This section of the project consists of a new single-track dual-gauge line, including approximately 1.1km of tunnels through the Teviot Range at Woolooman.”

Australian Rail Track Corporation is delivering the 10-year freight program, which will carry 50 intermodal round trips between Melbourne and Brisbane each week by 2050.

Dr Lynham said the Inland Rail Project had 13 separate projects, five in Queensland, each of which could be independently connected to the rail network.

“The proposed route will run through regional Victoria and central-west New South Wales, crossing the border into Queensland near Yelarbon, where another five sections take it to Acacia Ridge,” Dr Lynham said.

“The proponent has advised that the whole program is predicted to reduce rail freight times from Melbourne to Brisbane via Sydney by six hours, as well as reducing the freight task’s carbon footprint by 750,000 tonnes per year.

“This section will require rigorous planning and engineering to address the potential impacts on the rural community and small farms including minimising flooding impacts on properties along the alignment.”

Dr Lynham said the next step would be for the Coordinator-General to release the draft terms of reference for the environmental impact statement and seek public comment.

Money for Toowoomba Range tunnels

Ms Reynolds also welcomed money in the Queensland Budget for upgrades to the Toowoomba Range rail tunnels.

The heritage-listed tunnels need to be lowered to allow them to carry a large new standard of shipping containers used by international shipping lines.

The government has injected a further $24 million to the project, which comes after a $6 million investment in the last financial year.

Ms Reynolds said she planned to have the InterLinkSQ sidings operational by April next year, which would line up with the completion of the Toowoomba Range tunnel project.