The Inland Rail project might need a detour, at least where it goes through one Riverina town

The Inland Rail project has lots of supporters, but in the Riverina city of Wagga Wagga people are saying it could become a roadblock to ambulances trying to get to the local hospital.

Wagga Wagga Hospital in regional NSW. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Simon Dallinger

There’s an old Japanese proverb about train travel that could just as easily apply to the Inland Rail project and the Riverina city of Wagga Wagga.

It says this: “If you get on the wrong train, get off at the next station; the longer you stay, the more expensive the return trip will be.“

For many, the idea of an inland rail route connecting eastern Australia is the right idea.

Inland Rail: Feelings are mixed in Wagga Wagga.

A 1600km freight rail line will connect Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

It will take thousands of trucks off Australia’s highways.

It will enhance our national freight and supply chain capabilities and will connect existing freight routes.

It will help shift more goods onto rail, meaning faster, more reliable freight; safer, less congested roads; and fewer emissions.

That’s the message from Inland Rail.

But the reality is that more people are feeling the project might be on the wrong track, at least in Wagga Wagga.

After years of planning, the Wagga Wagga City Council, the State independent Member Dr Joe McGirr and various councillors and local groups are up in arms over the proposed route.

At the moment, it’s set to go along the existing rail line.

Dr Joe McGirr, Wagga Wagga: Picture: Supplied

Construction work will include the closure of Edmondson St bridge over the line for up to 18 months. This will divert traffic along another road, Bourke St which leads into Docker St.

Bourke St has a level crossing and when trains go through, traffic stops.

As council general manager Peter Thompson has been saying, “it makes no sense.”

Wagga Wagga City Council General Manager Peter Thompson. Picture: Supplied

Ambulances headed to the nearby Wagga Wagga Base Hospital emergency department will be forced to stop - or take a longer detour.

Mr Thompson said he could imagine patients being able to see the city’s $282m new hospital from the back of an ambulance, but stuck waiting for a long train to pass by.

Earlier this year the Federal Government announced an additional $30m to plan for a potential rail bypass. This came seven years after the Federal and NSW governments signed an agreement to build the thing. (The idea of an inland rail was first mooted at Federation, by the way.)

The cost of the project has doubled in recent years, from $16.4bn to $31.4bn.

Inland Rail has said the number and length of trains will increase eventually. One report said the line will eventually carry 18 1.8 km trains a day.

Dr McGirr said: “I think it’s incredibly expensive, but I think it will have value. As a state member, my extreme concern has just been the disruption of the community here.”

He has been instrumental in a campaign to delay the closure of Edmondson Street bridge until further traffic studies are undertaken.

If plans don’t change, the humble Wagga Wagga city commute for many will come to a grinding halt, he said.

For Mr Thompson, the fix is simple. Either build the existing line over the Bourke St - Docker Street road, or send it underneath in a tunnel.

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