Call for Inland Rail review to include southern suburbs

A review of the controversial Inland Rail route through southeastern Queensland will not include highly-populated suburbs south of Brisbane, with a group of residents calling for common sense before it’s too late.

Stan and Suz Corbett have been campaigning against the Inland Rail and want the federal government to include their suburb in a review of the route and the Hillcrest/Forestdale corridor. AAP Image/Renae Droop

A REVIEW of the controversial Inland rail route through southeastern Queensland will not include highly-populated suburbs south of Brisbane.

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The federal government bowed to pressure from farmers and ordered the review which focuses on the track as it crosses the Condamine River floodplain.

The review, called for by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack does not include suburbs in Logan such as Hillcrest, Forestdale and also parts of Algester.

But an Inland Rail Action Group, backed by some Logan residents whose properties will be affected by the freight line, want the audit to include the southside suburbs and investigate an alternative route.

Stan and Suz Corbett want a federal government review of the Inland Rail route to include the Hillcrest/Forestdale corridor. AAP Image/Renae Droop

Inland Rail Action Group member and the ARTC Community Consultative Committee Suz Corbett said an independent inquiry was required and not a government-based inquiry.

“Michael McCormack needs an independent review of the whole route to include the section of track from Kagaru to Acacia Ridge and Bromelton,” she said.

“It is obvious that bringing trains through our suburbs is not an appropriate route when there are alternatives that are less invasive.

“The ARTC should stop all works while they are investigating and engineering these routes until completion of the review as the result may be superseded.

“Until we receive the final results, it is considered a waste of taxpayers’ money and gives us no confidence if they continue at this point.”

The ARTC has said it was not responsible for determining the route of the Inland Rail, which was a federal government decision.

It also said in March the project timeline was for construction to begin in Queensland in 2021.

It said findings of the Inland Rail Gladstone Link Prefeasibility Study by the federal government indicated that linking Inland Rail to the Port of Gladstone was not economically viable based on forecast market demand.

“However, should there be improved market demand in the future, the government is willing to consider revisiting the case for a Gladstone link to inland Rail,” an Inland Rail spokesman said in March.

“The Deputy Prime Minister has asked ARTC to review the Forestry Route via Cecil Plains against the current border to Gowrie project route to assess its ability to meet the business case requirements.

“We have the utmost confidence in our flood modelling on the B2G section of Inland Rail.”