Rail promises are ‘old news’ — Katter
THREE rail projects unveiled by the state government for the Townsville to Mount Isa line have been declared “old news”.
Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said a business case into the feasibility of double-stacked trains would be finalised this year as part of a $50m investment from the state government.
He said the business case would finalise the cost of the initiative and ensure there will be sufficient demand for double stacking.
Mr Bailey said the upgrade would take place along roughly 320km of the line, starting just west of Hughenden and continuing to near Cloncurry.
The works include bridge abutment and scour repairs in nearby drains and creeks, stonework including gabion flood protection to embankments, and further drainage and cleaning works as required.
But Traeger MP Robbie Katter said there was nothing new about the funding promise at all.
He said while any funding for the line was welcomed, North Queenslanders should not be fooled into thinking it was new money.
Mr Katter said the announcement simply provided further detail on how the investment would be spent on the Mount Isa-townsville rail line.
“A large part of this money is linked to upgrade works that are vital following the monsoonal event of last year that destroyed large tracts of the line,” Mr Katter said.
He said confirmation of plans to proceed with the investment was still good news for the region.
Mr Katter said promises of funding did not, however, address the significant cost incurred by users of the line.
“The main issue with the operation of the line does not relate to its infrastructure, but rather to the Queensland Competition Authority pricing guidelines which are often prohibitive to generating broader use,” Mr Katter said.
He said last year’s budget had also failed to fix the issue of the price structure set by the Queensland Competition Authority and that was hampering the future of the rail line.
“This structure is what is impacting the efficiency and productivity of the line, and is what is driving more and more trucks onto the roads,” he said.
“That, coupled with the privatisation of Queensland Rail over the last decade, has seen a lot of job losses across the North West and we are still struggling to recuperate after those hits.”
Earlier this month, Mr Katter raised the alarm about looming rail jobs being moved from Charters Towers, Cloncurry and Mount Isa to Townsville.
He said at least six jobs, four from Charters Towers and two from Cloncurry, had been ripped away from the North West in the state government’s latest attempt to centralise vital services.