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

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The Management of the Inland Rail Project by the Australian Track Corporation and the Commonwealth Government The Management of the Inland Rail project by the Australian Track Corporation and the Commonwealth Government. Comments with reference to: B. Route planning and selection processes C. Connections with other freight infrastructure, including ports and intermodal hubs. b. Route planning and selection processes. Historical. In 2007, the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) initiated a study into the proposed Southern Rail Freight Corridor (SRFC). The study area was from the interstate rail corridor (SGRC) at Kagaru south of Jimboomba, to Rosewood on the western rail line, despite the general area being identified on the 2005 SEQ Regional Plan as being north of Jimboomba. A more suitable corridor to the north was also identified however was discounted by the Queensland Government as it was close to the (then) proposed residential developments at Springfield and Ripley and it was deemed to be inappropriate to bring a high speed freight corridor so close to residential areas. This criterium appears to have been forgotten or discarded with the choice of the proposed alignment utilizing the existing interstate corridor from Kagaru to Acacia Ridge bisecting the residential developments at Flagstone and Greenbank proposed to accommodate 120000 residents in the near future. A draft Assessment Report was released in 2008 and despite many strong and relevant objections, the final report was released in August 2010 and the corridor gazetted by the Queensland Government. This report clearly identifies that ARTC was heavily involved in the selection of the corridor at this phase of the process despite their current claims that they must use the SRFC identified by the Queensland Government. There was only minimal interaction with the potentially affected community – only 1 or 2 community information sessions in the Peak Crossing area and none in the Kagaru area some 64km by road from where the meetings were held. There was no consultation with residents north of Kagaru and to date, no advice to Brisbane residents that the local rail corridors connecting to the local Cleveland corridor and hence to the Port of Brisbane will be subject to a significant increase in heavy freight traffic. This local rail corridor is currently, the only existing rail link from Acacia Ridge to the Port of Brisbane. Page 2 of 7 Appropriateness of the Selected Corridor The SRFC reports are significant as this corridor had already been identified, according to the Final Assessment Report, for the alignment of Inland Rail. In these reports, a number of significant impacts for residents were identified during the construction phase and when the line was built and operational. Amenity Impacts: Change in character of the area: Many residents are attracted to the area for its lifestyle and amenity values. The use of the corridor for high speed rail is perceived to have high amenity impacts and significantly change the rural character of the area. Elevation of the Alignment The corridor between Calvert and Kagaru traverses the Bremer River flood plain as well as the valley of Teviot Brook to just west of the junction with the Logan River. The majority of the corridor is over land frequently subject to significant overland flows of water during rain and flood events. The rail alignment therefore needs to be elevated for a significant proportion of this corridor. The current alignment plans indicate there will be 15 bridges plus significant sections of raised embankments to take the alignment above predicted flood heights. The embankments will be of varying and unknown heights while the bridges vary in height up to 15.5m above ground level and from 69m to 965m in length. In addition, some of the passing loops are elevated on bridges or embankments. This means that many dwellings, currently with rural and mountain views and low background noise levels, will now be faced with an elevated and noisy rail corridor immediately in front of their homes. Noise and Vibration impacts: The SRFC report made specific reference to and expressed significant concerns regarding the potential impacts resulting from construction and operation with visual intrusion and noise of great concern. The SFRC, traverses a rural area with scattered population. Noise studies identified 15 residential dwellings that would exceed Queensland Rail external criteria A further 455 residential dwellings which range up to approximately 2.5 km from the alignment, would exceed TMR internal noise criteria The impact of noise levels above normal background noise is exacerbated when the source is above the receiving environment – even more so when there is the potential for 2 trains side by side and either accelerating or braking, a situation which will exist on the passing loops. Background noise levels have been measured by ARTC as low as <21dB(A). ARTC have also advised that the noise generated by a freight train travelling at 80km/hr in the Kagaru area, was recently measured as 78.3dB. Page 3 of 7 The impact of this significant increase in noise levels 45 times a day for at least 3 minutes each time, will have a massive impact on residents, particularly at night. Accessibility throughout the region: There is a high level of concern related to changes in access as a result of SRFC and subsequent Inland Rail construction and operation including road closures, route realignments and crossing constructions. The report also indicated disadvantage was likely to result for residents of many properties who will experience longer travel times. Safety: There is concern in relation to safety risks associated with the operation of the corridor for people crossing the rail line by vehicle or on foot, existing crossings on private properties for livestock and vehicles and livestock wandering onto the line. Scenic Rim Regional Council have stated that the preferred method of construction of a road/rail intersection is by Grade Separation – a method complied with by other developments in the Region. ARTC on the other hand, are persisting with their proposal to have a number of road/rail crossings in the Washpool, Peak Crossing and other areas, as uncontrolled level crossings. Safety and engineering experts have long recognised that the weakest link in any safety plan is the dependency on human involvement and cooperation. These proposed level crossings are a fatal accident waiting to happen. Property acquisition and replacement: There is a high level of concern and uncertainty regarding the acquisition of property and impact on property values in the vicinity of the proposed alignment. While most of the concern is centred around property devaluation, escalating property values in neighbouring regions may result in landowners who have property acquired, experiencing financial difficulties in re-entering the property market in a similar location. Environment The section of the Calvert to Kagaru corridor to the east of the Peak Crossing/Washpool area traverses the Teviot Range via a primarily wooded corridor which provides significant habitat and connectivity of habitat between the area south of the Springfield residential area and the Border Ranges into NSW. It also directly connects to the Karawatha Environmental corridor which has been identified and protected by the Queensland Government from encroaching residential development. Recent recorded sightings of the critically endangered Regent Honey Eater and Swift Parrot in the Springfield area are testament to the importance of this area as habitat and wildlife corridor. Numerous community sightings and dead specimens of the federally endangered spotted tail quoll have been reported over a period of more than 30 years in the area extending from Page 4 of 7 Greenbank/Spring Mountain/ Munruben/ North and South Maclean ( west of the proposed Inland Freight route) to Park Ridge South/Chambers Flat/ Logan Village and Tamborine Mountain and includes areas south of Camira and Johnson Road ( Forestdale). A report “Looking for Quolls in Logan” prepared by Wildlife Queensland as part of a Logan City Council Envirogrant has been provided to ARTC and outlines a record of these sightings in this region. In addition, it is understood that in preparing the EIS for this corridor, ARTC consultants identified significant potential and known koala habitats throughout the Calvert to Kagaru corridor and particularly in the Teviot Range area. Despite the use of a 1.5km rail tunnel through the range, this wild life corridor will be irretrievably damaged by both the construction activities and the effect of the high speed rail corridor bisecting the habitat. This can never be remediated. Kagaru to Acacia Ridge From Kagaru to Acacia Ridge, the existing SGR corridor traverses an area that has been declared as a Priority Development Area (PDA) for high/medium density housing by the Queensland State Government. This housing development is advanced and it is proposed to accommodate 120 000 – 150 000 residents in coming years. Some of the occupied land as well as proposed development sites, are only metres from the current SGRC. The current use of the SGRC, on average, is only a few trains per day, travelling at approximately 80km/hr. While these trains do currently cause significant noise and vibration impact, residents have been able, to some extent, to accommodate the interference as the trains are not frequent – sometimes only one per day. However, the prospect of 45 x 2 km long trains travelling at 115 km/hr and taking at least 3 minutes to pass with all the associated noise and vibration impacts, it not something that any property owner should have to endure. Monetary Cost to the affected Community In questions to ARTC, it was stated that unless there is direct impact by the new corridor, ie the corridor will physically encroach on private land, no compensation will be paid to property owners. Advice and associated recommendations may be made to property owners to lessen the impact however it appears the cost of remediation will be borne by the property owner.
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