The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) has now met over 60 landowners in one-on-one meetings in an effort to guide planning and design approaches for the Narromine to Narrabri section of the Inland Rail project
This phase of consultations began approximately one month ago and follows previous ARTC meetings with around 450 landowners last year, and an information event in December that was attended by 700 people.
The ARTC’s Inland Rail division CEO, Peter Winder, said they were taking a “personal approach” in the meetings, with small teams moving from Narromine towards Burroway, and, in the coming months, north to Narrabri.
“It takes time to do this right. There are around 300 landowners in the study area and we will meet with each and every one of them,” Winder said.
“Landowners are being contacted directly throughout this intensive, consultative process. There will, of course, be many more discussions with landowners over the course of the next year or more.”
The Narromine to Narrabri section will comprise approximately 300 kilometres of new track, making it the longest and most significant greenfield development of the Inland Rail project.
The study corridor is approximately 2 kilometres wide (with wider and narrower variations), within which the ARTC have been carrying out consultations – with landowners and engineering and construction experts – to ascertain the most appropriate site for track placement.
Around fifty alternative options for the study corridor were considered in response to community and stakeholder feedback. The choice itself was determined according to ARTC’s evaluation process, which included ascertaining the option that best met the “Service Offering” – the level of service required from the project by freight operators and customers – and the option that had the greater advantages with regards to the costs of construction, maintenance, and track operation.
Other criteria, including safety standards, technical viability, ecological and environmental impacts, and property, landowning and land use impacts, were judged in workshopping events across 2016 and 2017.
The preferred study area was chosen, among other reasons, for its estimated 4 minutes 38 seconds reduction in transit time over 3 hours and 10 minutes for the whole Narromine-Narrabri section – a decrease of approximately 2.5% — and for its estimated 3.3% capital cost saving on the total $1.5 billion cost of this section.
The 2-kilometres study area will, over the next 18-24 months, be whittled down to a final rail corridor of 45-60 metres wide. Community and stakeholder consultations are forming part of the refinement process.
Winder indicated that landowners had so far welcomed the opportunity to discuss issues of concern to them, including the design of the project in relation to individual properties, and planned studies such as geotechnical investigations, environmental surveys, social impact assessments and noise monitoring.
“We see input from landowners and communities as critical in shaping the design of Inland Rail,” he said.
“This means we are listening carefully and we are highly aware of the need to understand more about individual requirements, as well as community issues and local opportunities.
“This consultation process forms part of gaining that in-depth understanding which we take very seriously, applying a unique, highly tailored approach.”