Government reaches deal on freight trains
A policy to reduce the number of freight trains going through NSW will be watered down after talks between the government and industry.
NSW
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Environment Minister Matt Kean has stepped in to save the state’s freight train industry, striking a last minute deal that will force the EPA to water down a green policy that would have replaced trains with thousands of trucks.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal the minister held a 90 minute meeting with freight train drivers yesterday where he orchestrated an agreement that will “grandfather” their existing rolling stock and not demand costly upgrades or replacements for their lifespans.
Under the agreement, new trains will be required to meet greener standards.
“In what are highly technical issues, I believe we found a balance between satisfying the EPA’s concerns whilst limiting the impact on industry,” Mr Kean said.
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The result came after a series of stories published in The Daily Telegraph, which revealed the EPA’s bid to cut noise and diesel emissions of freight trains would perversely put thousands of B-double trucks on the road instead.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall blew the whistle on the problems.
It was also revealed the proposed licensing arrangements — which were in a consultation phase — would have put freight train operators out of business by requiring multimillion-dollar upgrades or trains would be rendered non-compliant.
Southern Short haul Rail boss Jason Ferguson — who risked losing 61 of his 63 trains under the initial requirements — praised Mr Kean for listening to his concerns and finding a “commonsense solution”.
“The problem was the EPA did not listen to us,” he said.
“We have agreed to revisit their wishes if the technology changes and it becomes cheaper to restrict the emissions. But their proposal was not viable and we were able to explain that to the minister.”
Mr Kean said he had a duty to “ensure communities are not impacted by extreme noise and particulate matter just because they live near rail lines”.
To this end, those at the meeting agreed to develop a working group with the EPA on noise abatement.