Angry residents push to re-route Inland Rail to Gladstone to keep coal out of Brisbane

Angry southeast residents, worried a rail freight line will plough through their suburbs, have stepped up their push for the track to be re-routed to Gladstone to keep coal out of Brisbane.

Residents say they would be subjected to similar 1800m trains but Inland Rail says it will keep trucks off roads.

ANGRY residents who fear their homes south of Brisbane are in the path of the controversial Inland Rail, have vowed to continue their push to divert the freight track to Gladstone.

They stepped up their campaign this week after Inland Rail chief executive Richard Wankmuller told last week’s senate inquiry the route was “not locked in”.

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The 1700km freight link, from Melbourne to Brisbane, is earmarked to go through parts of Scenic Rim, Logan and Brisbane, affecting an estimated 50,000 people.

Forestdale resident Stan Corbett said the route should not go to Brisbane, keeping the capital free of coal trains.

His alternative route would start at Inglewood, west of the proposed ARTC track, and run through the Bringalily State Forest north to terminate at Dalby.

Trucks would take Brisbane freight from Dalby and coal would go to Gladstone via a new Surat Basin rail link.

Inland Rail CEO Richard Wankmuller Australian Rail Track Corporation.

“It is not too late to consider this alternative,” Mr Corbett said.

“This section of the proposed rail from Kagaru to Acacia Ridge has the highest residential density and could possibly affect up to 120,000 people in the future.

“We want the senate inquiry to get the federal government to take note of all viable alternatives and for the ARTC to be instructed to carry out a full investigation.”

The Brisbane senate hearing into Inland Rail last week.

The ARTC said the Gladstone route was not economically viable based on findings in a 2017 Infrastructure Australia report, which Gladstone City Council said was flawed because freight would have to be trucked from Gladstone back to Brisbane.

But Mr Wankmuller said it was still possible the route could change if demand for a Gladstone link increased or if there were public safety issues.

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The ARTC also moved to alleviate residents’ fears about coal dust and noise from coal trains.

A deal with the state government confined initial movements of coal to the existing Ipswich to Port of Brisbane line.

But residents feared that would change once the Salisbury to Beaudesert passenger line was completed.

Inland Rail protester Stan Corbett with wife Suz says his Forestdale home will be affected. Picture: Peter Cronin

It also said less than 30 per cent of freight on the line would be coal with “nearly” 70 per cent of goods on Inland Rail to Brisbane for local businesses and shops.

Mr Corbett called for the ARTC to stop all works on the project until the senate inquiry handed down its report in September.

It is expected there will be additional senate hearings convened in New South Wales and Canberra.