Toowoomba range tunnel 'key' to inland railway success - ABC Local

By Fidelis Rego

Posted August 29, 2013 08:21:36

The Australian Railway Association (ARA) says building a tunnel through the Toowoomba range on southern Queensland's Darling Downs will be critical to the success of the proposed inland railway.

Both Labor and the Coalition have committed funds to complete planning a rail line between Brisbane and Melbourne, with the Opposition also promising to start construction in 2016.

ARA chief executive officer Bryan Nye says the Toowoomba-to-Moree leg of the line is a vital link

"From my perspective, the tunnel through the ranges because once that's concluded it opens up a whole number of possibilities," he said.

"Freight that's captured west in the Darling Downs region to get to the Port of Brisbane, so the key element and probably the number one element of it all is the tunnel through the Toowoomba ranges."

Mr Nye says the inland railway has been discussed for a long time and it is good to see some concrete commitments.

"You've got to do the detailed engineering drawings, you've got to do the environmental impact assessment, you've got to acquire the land," he said.

"Once that's underway you can start construction.

"That's money ... you couldn't spend $1 billion tomorrow because it's just not ready.

"Getting the rest done, getting the commitment to do it is probably the most important element."

Topics: rail-transport, regional-development, regional, activism-and-lobbying, federal---state-issues, toowoomba-4350