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Management of the Inland Rail Project by the Australian Rail Track Corporation and the Commonwealth Government

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Management of the Inland Rail Project by the Australian Rail Track Corporation and the Commonwealth Government SUBMISSION TO THE INQUIRY INTO THE MANAGEMENT OF THE INLAND RAIL PROJECT BY THE AUSTRALIAN RAIL TRACK CORPORATION AND THE COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT. 22 November 2019 Submission by Ms Barbara Deans Coonamble, NSW Our farming property is in the investigation corridor of the proposed Narromine to Narrabri section of the Inland Rail Project in NSW (N2N). This submission relates to this proposed section of the Inland Rail corridor. We object to this proposed new Greenfields track and want Inland Rail to run on existing track in this region. Existing track is serviced by existing infrastructure, connected to the towns and will encourage growth in towns and communities. 1. SUMMARY In my view the Inland Rail project is not about growing regional Australia, apart from a couple of hand-picked locations. It appears that the benefits of the project will flow to large corporations and a small number of inland towns. There has been insufficient attention given to ensuring that this ‘nation-building project’ benefits areas that the line passes through, especially the Greenfield Narromine to Narrabri (N2N) section where I am located. The N2N section seems to have been handled like an after-thought with basic investigations not done, missing key steps, decisions made without proper information, lack of transparency and without genuine engagement with communities and landholders. The process to select the Greenfield corridor in the N2N section has been so badly handled that ARTC are unable to provide evidence of how it was selected, what the positive and negative impacts will be and how they will be addressed. ARTC have acknowledged the substantial opposition to the chosen corridor in the N2N section. ARTC and Commonwealth Government representatives appear to be saying that they acknowledge it has been done badly but are forging on regardless. That would appear to be reckless waste of taxpayer money when better and significantly cheaper options are available. I sincerely hope that this Inquiry will result in the options for alignment of the N2N section being thoroughly independently reviewed. What is needed and should have been done is an independent Business Case Study including a Socio-Economic Benefit Study for N2N section. It is my view that upgrading the existing line and utilizing and energizing the impacted 4 regional Shires of Coonamble, Warrumbungle, Gilgandra and Walgett would be better value and grow this part of regional Australia. The two reports by ANAO1 and ACCC2 I feel support my concerns. 1 https://www.anao.gov.au/work/performance-audit/management-inland-rail-pre-construction-program Point number 11 2 https://www.accc.gov.au/regulated-infrastructure/rail/artc-interstate-access-undertaking https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/ARTC%20-%20IAU%20-%202018%20Draft%20Decision.pdf A. financial arrangements of the project 1. The cost far outweighs the benefit The BCR (benefit-cost ratio) has been noted in many reports as being marginal at the spend of 8.4 billion over 50 years3. Melita Lanigan-King, Director – Regional and Industry benefits Inland Rail Division, at the Narrabri Forum on 8th August 2019 conducted by Ernest Young, said “Inland rail would cost $16 billion.” She corrected the E&Y speaker when he said $8 .4 billion. If this is correct, the total cost has already doubled. A revised budget needs to be presented to the public. 2. It appears ARTC have based their options costing decisions on the 2010 report which contains errors and out of date information. The ‘Rail Alignment Study (2010) Final Report Appendix D4: Identified Route Options’ made cost comparisons using the then Class 5 track between Curban and Coonamble. However, upgrade works have been carried out on the Dubbo to Coonamble line5 since the 2010 IRAS assessment. It is my understanding that these works completed in 2013/2014 brought the Dubbo to Coonamble line to a high standard (22.5 ton /axle @80kms heavy rail) comparable with much of the rest of the 1300km brownfield inland rail line.6 There is no evidence that these upgraded works were properly considered when comparing the Greenfield N2N route cost with use of more of the existing line in the N2N section. In a letter 22 August 2018 to NSW Farmers from Mr McCormack DPM, it was stated Curban through Coonamble to Gwabegar is 30% more expensive than Greenfield Curban to Gwabegar. This was based on appendix E7. However, the Appendix E information is incorrect. It was based on upgrading a class 5 line. This is wrong. ARTC and Dept. of infrastructure should have known this fact. The 550,000 ton of the 2016 harvest would not have been able to be sold and moved out of Coonamble GrainCorp silo on a class 5 rail track. 3. ARTC’s 2010 costings are unreliable We have been repeatedly told that it is cheaper to build a new line rather than use the existing line between Gilgandra and Coonamble. However, the 2010 costings are out of date and unreliable. Michael Clancy, ARTC Manager Business Development, at a CCC meeting in July 2019, stated that our section of existing line, Gilgandra to Coonamble, is much the same as the line from Melbourne to Brisbane, and all it needs is refurbishing to bring it to the Inland Rail standard. A report by ARTC’s Mitch Carr to the NSW Dept. of Planning in May 2018, stated that the estimated Approximate Construction Value of a new build in N2N section would be $1.6 billion. [page 4]. I ask the question, where is the costing for everything else? Such as land acquisition, dispute resolution, easement preparation, road diversions, etc. It is our view that the economic argument to keep inland rail on existing rail and Crown Land in N2N is strong. We understand the cost would be in the order of $600m making a saving of approximately one billion dollars. 4. There are errors and inconsistencies in the ARTC 2015 Business Case Study. 3 See ‘Final Inland Rail Project Evaluation Summary’ by Dept. of Infrastructure. 4 https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ehq-production- australia/1b15e8d2713f1b18d3db295bcb930c92ad42d837/documents/attachments/000/080/024/original/IR_AS_APPENDIX_A-E.pdf?1529024873 page 54 5 http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/08/25/2993402.htm 6 http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/08/25/2993402.htm 7 Melbourne – Brisbane Inland Rail Alignment Study – Final Report 41 Appendix E: Route Development page 41 For example: Inland Rail Group Implementation Report page 283, 2015 Business Case Study8 states 2 million tons of agriculture will be attracted from road, whereas page 17 of the Summary of the 2015 case for inland rail9 (same report) refers to 9 million tons of agricultural freight. Where did the extra 7 million ton come from? Where are the figures to prove this? B: Route planning and selection processes 1. I question the validity of information used to determine the corridor along N2N. The North–South Rail Corridor Study (Department of Transport and Regional Services, 2006) and the Melbourne– Brisbane Inland Rail Alignment Study (ARTC 2010) appear to be the source documents for everything ARTC are doing in N2N section. These documents are 13 and 9 years old and contain errors and assumptions and should not be relied on to make the route selection in to build Greenfield N2N section. 2. Flood risk: The proposed N2N corridor was determined using desktop studies. Representatives of GHD have advised that there are no flood studies and no official recording stations to refer to in relation to floods. This is significant. It is my view that the current route selection has failed to take into consideration the substantial flood risk from water flow from the Warrumbungle Mountains. ARTC’s facts are incorrect. The ARTC 2010 report on the N2N section had the route going through “flat country with a good amount of water” but which it described as “flowing at very slow pace.” This is not accurate. The proposed route for Inland Rail will make it essentially a levee bank on the base of the mountains, perpendicular to the east west flow of water from the Warrumbungle Mountains. This area has multiple fast-flowing ephemeral creeks (over 120) that feed the second fastest flowing river in New South Wales. The erosion protection of the proposed inland rail line will have to “5 star”, sufficient to withstand substantial fast flowing water from the Warrumbungle mountains. We envisage both construction and maintenance will, as a consequence, be expensive and require significant ongoing maintenance. This fact alone, will make it essential that the line is built to specifications not to budget. ARTC’s description ‘’the flow velocity is low due to the flat nature of the topography therefore minimal erosion protection will be required ‘’ is actually describing the existing Gilgandra to Coonamble line and not the proposed new portion of inland rail, which is west of the Warrumbungle Mountains.10 3. The preferred option to stay in main road corridors and use existing rail corridors was not properly investigated in N2N section. We, the agricultural sector, will make better use of Inland Rail if it runs on the existing line to Gilgandra, Gulargambone, Curban, Armatree and Coonamble where the silos, road networks and existing infrastructure are, with potential for growth with our towns. 4. There has been no Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) for the section of N2N from Mt Tenandra to Baradine. 8 https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ehq-production- australia/5de589db79424a8f1344e2e42e171fc205104b99/documents/attachments/000/029/855/original/InlandRailBusinessCase.pdf?1448785278 9 https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/ARTC%20-%20IAU%20-%202018%20Draft%20Decision.pdf https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ehq-production- australia/573b865247760681cf086584fcf8dad522def603/documents/attachments/000/106/353/original/IR_897_The_Case_for_Inland_Rail.pdf?1559016526 10 https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/ehq-production- australia/3c5698b4bb14f693b4f4ff046b312cc570d6db2d/documents/attachments/000/080/027/original/IR_AS_APPENDIX_J-M.pdf?1529024994 This is unacceptable.
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