Mayor Paul Antonio confident in Toowoomba fast rail business case after meeting with Transport, Main Roads director-general

After sharing concerns about the involvement of the community in the study, Mayor Paul Antonio is confident the business case into fast rail to Toowoomba is on the right track.

Fast Rail

Mayor Paul Antonio is confident the business case study into fast passenger rail between Toowoomba and Brisbane is back on track, after previously expressing concerns about the State Government’s scope.

Cr Antonio, along with Lockyer Valley Mayor Tanya Milligan and Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding, met with Transport and Main Roads director-general Neil Scales on Wednesday to discuss the $15 million study into the concept, which was announced back in 2018-19 by the Federal Government.

Having held worries the business case would not consult with key communities and stakeholder groups, the Mayor said he was now satisfied it would be able to draw the right outcomes.

“We’ve got a pathway forward — we’re on the journey, and it will take us until 2022, because there are three studies,” Cr Antonio said.

“Our job today was to make sure the communities of this region are involved.

“The thing we have to watch is to make sure that we are not forgotten.

“We want high-speed rail and we want to make sure it does a good job for us and attracts people to these regions.

“We had a good conversation with the Main Roads and Transport director-general.”

While the State Government had committed to a fast rail network for much of southeast Queensland prior the election, it has not done the same for Toowoomba.

Cr Antonio has repeatedly suggested high-speed passenger rail should be included as part of the upcoming tunnel through the Toowoomba range for the Inland Rail project.