22 March, 2023
Gowrie residents question Inland Rail
An Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) workshop about Inland Rail has saw a robust discussion at the Gowrie Junction Progress Association Hall last Thursday night.
Discussion was generally productive on the night, with most audience receiving answers to their questions.
One resident, whose land borders the rail corridor, left in disgust after questions about the rapid devaluation of his land were again directed elsewhere.
Currently, the Federal Government’s Inland Rail Project is employing 3,792 people, with a total of 18,000 jobs expected to be created through the lifetime of the project.
Grants worth over $200,000 have been handed out to community groups including the Darling Downs Historical Railway Society, Brookstead State School and Millmerran State School.
Those at the meeting heard about the noise testing being undertaken in Gowrie Junction, and the planned removal of local rail crossings, to be replaced by road overpasses.
A tunnel will be constructed from Gowrie through the range, with the capacity to carry stacked shipping containers.
ARTC representative Michael Steele talked about the sustainable ways in which ARTC was constructing the railway.
Old timber rail sleepers are being re-used, and sulphur concrete sleepers are being used for the first time in Australia, after a successful trial in Belgium.
Solar-powered signals are being used on the track, and passive-cooling signal huts are expected to save over
25 per cent on air-conditioning costs.
During a post-talk Q&A, community members raised concerns over the number of diesel locomotives passing through their town (one every 36 minutes with no nightly curfew), and asked for continuing transparency about the project.
