Freight Fright: Western communities concerned about proposed rail corridor

BY JARROD MELMETH

Communities along the proposed Lower Hunter freight rail corridor are expressing their concerns about the lack of consultation.

The plans for the 30-kilometre rail line proposed between Fassifern and Hexham were released last week to the enthusiasm from the broader Hunter community but residents who live along the planned route fear the impacts on their properties.

The plans feature four alternative routes where small communities at Killingsworth, Holmesville, West Wallsend and Barnsley are on all four of the proposed routes.

Cessnock MP Clayton Barr whose electorate is largely impacted by the proposed routes says the consultation process needs to be more targeted.

"These quiet villages have really felt the brunt of the expansion and the slow creep to the west of Lake Macquarie and Newcastle and now we are talking about a freight rail line.

"There is just so much out there to preserve and be careful of. There is so much about peoples lifestyles, sometimes intergenerational lifestyles and we have to respect that. We can't just mow through and just say progress is good.

"This has been many years, even decades in the making. Why are we only being given this really short window to understand the project and provide feedback.

"Ill be seeking an extension through Transport for NSW for submissions," Mr Barr said.

Consultation closes August 17 and can be provided here. 

Pictured: The preferred Lower Hunter freight corridor route.

Fixing Country Rail for the Hunter

BY MICHAEL COOK and JESSICA ROUSE

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald has announced the first round of Fixing Country Rail funding and is urging Hunter stakeholders to apply.

The projects are targeted at improving freight movements across the NSW rail system especially out of regional areas which will ease pressure on our roads.

Applications have opened this week, and will deliver $150 million in this round of funding out of the $400 million announced for the whole project.

Scot MacDonald says they are looking for applications from a number of different sectors.

"It's not necessarily just confined to the rail operators. any groups so producers, councils, transporters, infrastructure managers, intermodal terminal operators, we're looking for good ideas about how to improve efficiencies across our rail network, how to expand it, how to expand the economic opportunities"

The program is a complement to the Fixing Country Roads program which was all about improving freight movements between farms,key freight hubs like grain silos, saleyards, rail heads, supermarket distribution centres and depots.

The Hunter is set to benefit greatly from the Fixing Country Rail, and Scot MacDonald says it will be quick to deliver the benefits.

"Rail is extremely important as we know to the Hunter, we've got about $160 million tonnes of coal of course that comes down the chain, we've got grain, we've got a range of goods. So anything that can improve the freight part of it is really what we're looking for and of course there's some good ideas out there."