Inland Rail moves into new Toowoomba CBD office

AUSTRALIAN Rail Track Corporation’s Inland Rail project has a new office in the Toowoomba CBD.

Groom MP Dr John McVeigh and Australian Rail Track Corporation Inland Rail CEO Richard Wankmuller at the opening of ARTC's new Inland Rail office in Margaret St, Toowoomba.

AUSTRALIAN Rail Track Corporation's Inland Rail project has a new office in the Toowoomba CBD.

Located in Margaret St, the new office can accommodate up to 40 people, with social distancing requirements.

It was opened yesterday by ARTC Inland Rail CEO Richard Wankmuller and Groom MP Dr John McVeigh.

The project's new high-visibility office "reflected the importance the region was playing in the design and development of Inland Rail in Queensland", Dr McVeigh said.

"More than 60 per cent of the Inland Rail investment will be made in Queensland and much of this will be in Toowoomba," he said.

"As we fast become a northern freight and logistics hub - it's fitting that ARTC increase their presence in town as they work to refine the design of Inland Rail."

The office was designed and built by local business WJT Builders, at a cost of approximately $420,000.

All told, the Inland Rail project will support 5000 jobs in the Darling Downs and Lockyer Valley during construction alone - that's the equivalent of the population of Oakey.

To date, there have been more than $15 million in contracts being awarded to local suppliers over the last 12 months, with more to come as construction continues.

Currently 90% of the Inland Rail workforce in Toowoomba was recruited locally and ARTC aims to continue to employ locally wherever possible.

Speaking at the official opening yesterday, Dr McVeigh said Queensland would see $7 billion of investment as a result of Inland Rail - the sort of investment "not seen … in Australia for many years".

 

"The Inland Rail project here in our part of the world will in fact dwarf the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing project," he said.

Dr McVeigh said Inland Rail was at the "top of the list" of important infrastructure projects "the Federal Government wants to see progress on as quickly as possible".

Mr Wankmuller said ARTC was progressing the border to Gowrie section's Environmental Impact State process in parallel with a comparison of an alternative State forestry route across the Condamine flood plain.

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