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Former Deputy Prime Minister the Hon John Anderson AO and the Australian Rail Track
Corporation’s (ARTC) Inland Rail project team will be touring regional NSW and Queensland
locations next week to brief local Council leaders, stakeholders and industry reps on the
programme and seek local insight and feedback on the next stages of the programme.
The group is visiting locations in the northern area of the Inland Rail programme including
Ipswich and Toowoomba in Queensland, and Narrabri, Dubbo and Parkes in NSW, as part of a
first tranche of stakeholder information and consultation activities.
“The purpose of the meetings are to provide a brief to local community and industry leaders
about the current status and plans for Inland Rail and seek feedback about the next stages and
priority projects,” Mr Anderson said.
“It’s also an important chance for the team to meet with local stakeholders in person and get an
understanding of the unique local opportunities and issues of each region.”
Inland Rail is the Australian Government’s priority rail freight project and has committed $300
million to finalise planning, engineering design, environmental assessments and to start
construction of the programme.
These initial briefings are only the first in what will be a range and number of stakeholder and
community engagement activities being planned throughout the route of the Inland Rail
programme, Mr Anderson said.
“Inland Rail is a major, complex programme and it will be important to capture local ideas and
look for ways to deliver this project as innovatively as possible.
“We recognise the need to engage a wide spectrum of stakeholders and in coming months the
ARTC Inland Rail project team will be creating opportunities for a range of groups to become part
of our inland rail community,” said Mr Anderson.
ARTC has been tasked with developing a 10-year programme to deliver Inland Rail under the
guidance of the Inland Rail Implementation Group, chaired by Mr Anderson.
“Local Councils and communities have been vital in helping bring Inland Rail to life through their
support and advocacy and we recognise the community will continue to play an important part in
the programme’s future success, particularly as we progress through its design, planning and
construction phases,” Mr Anderson said.