Minutes of the LRTC Meeting 26 May 2012 at Dubbo
Minutes of the LRTC Meeting 26 May 2012 at Dubbo
The meeting was opened at 10.05am by President Russell Holden. Attendance: 25 people attended; names as per attendance sheet.
Apologies: Troy Grant, Brian Williamson, George Schurr, Paul Travaskis, Geoff Braddon, lan Gray, Noelene Milliken, Kevin Smith, Garnet Jones, Daniel Myles, Glen Sherlock, Peter Francis, Ken Trethewey, Pascale Stendell, Juliette Palmer/Frederick, Bede Ryan, John DeBritt, Wallace Devlin, Chris Piol, John Slobbe, Stuart Freudenstein, Doug Palmer, Judith Hannan, Rex Lewis, David Hyde, Kevin Thrupp, Jan Kenworthy, Mike Sweeney, Marcia Church.
Minutes of the previous meeting were moved by D Lawrence and seconded by D Hughes as a true and accurate recording of events. Carried.
Business arising from the minutes:
Central West XPT (M Simpson): The daily Central West XPT is poorly timetabled and does give central western passengers the opportunjty to make a day trip to the metropolitan area.
Moved M Simpson seconded by Eleanor Gibbs that the LRTC form a sub-committee to investigate better transport options for rail passengers seeking day return access to Sydney. Dubbo, Orange, Bathurst and Lithgow Councils must be involved . Representatives to be selected by next LRTC meeting. Carried.
Correspondence: All correspondence was tabled and circulated. Moved H Mansfield seconded Eleanor Gibbs that correspondence be received and acted on as read. Carried.
Treasurer's Report: Moved H Mansfield seconded D Lawrence that the Treasurer's Report be received and accounts passed for payment. Carried.
Member Councils and Other Reports:
1. Cowra (W West): Cowra Council supports investigation into the completion of the Maldon-Dombarton rail line and sees it strengthening regional the viability of regional rail routes.
Cowra Council is still pursuing development of the Cowra Airport precinct. An alternate route over the Blue Mountains should be pursued as a regional issue.
Cowra Council supports the development of the link from Yass, through Cowra to the Newell and Mitchell Highways as a road of regional sigruficance.
Cowra Council continues to investigate an alternate heavy vehicle route at Cowra.
2. Weddin (M Simpson): The revival of the Blayney- Demondrille rail line is a pressing matter that is taking up most of the time of the five Councils on the rail taskforce.
There is concern that the huge concentration of grain truck movements in the Greenethorpe area is leading to the destruction of the once very good local road network.
3. Blayney (D Bell): The Sealink siding just east of Blayney opened on Friday
25 May. The new facility will handle an increased freight task by 2014. Currently two container and three Cadia gold trains service Blayney each week. This will increase to five gold trains by 2014 plus an increased number of intermodal movements.
A new iron ore mine at Trunkey will further increase freight movements but detailed tonnage figures are unknown at present.
4. Dubbo (J Smith): Mining development in the Dubbo area is likely to increase. Alkane Exploration is proactive and developing with rare earths to be mined at Toongi and gold at Tomingley.
Dubbo has similar concerns to Mudgee with major mining developments competing with traditional farming.
There is a need to continue funding development of the Newell Highway. Doubling of the route by 2020 is a challenge as is the need to balance the higher productivity achieved by increasing mass limits of vehicles against road funding and safety issues.
A request to run B-triples between Dubbo and Bourke has been received. Dubbo Council is looking at its arterial road network and the challenge of allowing road train movements in an urban area.
Dubbo is already seen as a truck friendly communi ty. This is a positive for Dubbo Council.
There must be a realistic approach from other levels of government regarding road funding.
The Bells Line of Road or an alternative route over the Blue Mountains needs to be on the state and federal agenda.
The Newell Highway and linking roads are being neglected at the expense of other routes such as the pacific Highway.
Fletchers Internal Exports intermodal terminal has expanded to carry loaded containers.
The proposed Cobbora Coal project located 22 kilometres west of Dunedoo is likely to focus infrastructure pressure on Dubbo rather than Mudgee. Planning requirement in conjunction with development from this project is already under consideration by Dubbo Council.
5. Young (J Drum): Re-opening of the Blayney-Demondrille line is a priority. Grain from Koorawatha/Greenethorpe channelling through Young is putting pressure on roads.
Continuation of Road to Recovery funding will make a major difference. Significant flood damage to roads in the area occurred in March. Disaster funding is available.
Community transport - Good access is required to medical services in Canberra and Sydney. Young and Boorowa are experiencing access problems. Magnesite ore from Thuddungra is transferred to Young for processing. The mine pays road damage compensation to Young Council.
Young Council believes the very fast train project should be a priority.
6. Cabonne (R Staples): The recent transport forum held in Orange was not helpful. There was no regional integration just proposals for individual projects. Not enough forward thinking.
7. Parkes Shire (J Magil): Transport forum gave support for north-south rail line through Parkes. The federal government has already shown support for this project.
SCT Logistic operates one 1.8km long train west of Parkes each week. The train uses dedicated locomotives and rolling stock. Distribution is carried out from Parkes.
The condition of the Newell Highway is a concern. $18m spent north of Parkes in recent years is not nearly enough to ensure the good condition of the road.
Rail lines - Weed eradication within the rail corridor is a concern.
Paddock to Port - the need for transport uniformity is essential for the efficient movement of freight. There is no uniformity regarding the use of B-doubles in shires west of the Newell Highway. Decision making is piecemeal. There is a need to identify strategic transport corridors and clearly state what should be B-double and B-triple routes. Restricted access vehicles are restricted to certain routes because they have safety issues and cause road damage other vehicles don't. Trucks theoretically pay their way through taxes but not all taxes collected go back to roads.
The debate regarding road access for high productivity vehicles continued for some time. The discussion concluded with the following statement from Chris Sutherland of Cootamundra; "Until the State Transport Master plan is in place there is no point in making recommendations that cannot be implemented". Lobby the state government to implement the Master Plan which outlines the direction future road transport decision makers must follow.
Air service: It is essential that slots are available for regional operators at Mascot. This is a political decision and pressure must be maintained.
North Parkes Mine: Improvements at the mine are likely to produce a fivefold productivity increase. The mine is a good corporate citizen that directly supports road maintenance.
8. Blue Mountains (E Gibbs): Submissions are open into the Metropolitan transport study. Linkages of the regions into the metropolitan area are non existent.
The Blue Mountains Transport Strategy is now in place. This is a community led project.
Blue Mountains is concerned that passenger services are no longer part of the metropolitan rail network. Will there be a drop in service now that they have become part of the country rail network?
Blue Mountains has a 19 tonne limit on road vehicles. Road accidents are an emotive issue. An increase in the size of tricks operating over the Blue Mountains is not likely.
The creation of a dedicated truck stop between Penrith and Lithgow is under consideration.
9. Mid Western (R Holden): Aeropelican is now flying three daily return flights Sydney/Mudgee. Council is looking at airport development and the introduction of landing fees. Council's initial $120,000 incentive to Aeropelican has been well spent. Visiting medical services have returned to Mudgee.
There is great concern with the increase of mine traffic is doing to roads in
Mid Western Shire. There are now three operational mines and seven potential new mines in the area. The Golden Highway is now busier than the Newell because of mine traffic. Upkeep of the road is expected to be $37m over the next 20 years. Why should Council pay for infrastructure that subsidises private companies? This is one road with a problem but is only one of many. The debate is likely to end in the Land and Environment Court.
10. Port Kembla Port Corporation (D Figliomeni): The Port Kembla Outer
Harbour reclamation is almost complete.
Port Kembla Port Corporation's submission to the NSW Long Term Transport Master Plan submission is complete. The critical concern is the capacity of the metropolitan rail network to cope with the expected increasing freight task and to integrate these movements with passenger priorities and the morning and evening freight curfew.
Strategic use of regional rail lines is essential. Coal transported through Port Kembla is expected to double by 2018. There is a 5-6 year window to solve the transport issues. Major transport problems will arise after this date if nothing is done.
Freight is a strategic priority. The Port Kembla rail master plan has been completed. It identifies the Maldon - Dombarton line as essential infrastructure. Increasing rail freight over the Blue Mountains and through the Sydney metropolitan area just won' t happen. There must be a plan in place to use regional rail lines.
Port Kembla Port Corporation is ensuring that grain still has access to the port facilities. There is equal access for coal and grain with ARG, El Zorro and Pacific National all running grain into the port.
A reopened Blayney -Demondrille line is part of a regional solution.
11. Centroc (M Simpson): Centroc is now taking into account regional rail as an option when considering strategic traffic solutions for the central west.
12. LRTC Website (M Simpson): Mo tabled a hard copy of the first page of the website. Details of subsequent pages are still being developed. A mission statement and brief history of the LRTC is still required as are suitable photographs for inclusion. The web address is: www.lrtc.com.au. The site is being developed by Michael Yates of Grenfell. There is a one off development fee of $1,500 and a service fee of $55 per month for two years. All changes to the site will be input by Michael Yates from input received through the secretary.
Moved D Lawrence and seconded by H Mansfield that the construction of the LRTC website continue and that the site be funded for a period of two years as outlined. Carried.
General Business:
Great Western Highway - Upgrade (Eleanor Gibbs): Reed Constructions, the company upgrading the Woodford - Hazelgrove section of the Highway is in dispute with the state government and has ceased work. Other sections of work are proceeding well.
There is great concern that Infrastructure NSW is not concentrating on anywhere outside the Sydney metropolitan area.
There is significant local opposition to a Blue Mountains Expressway. The Great
Western Highway is both the Blue Mountains main suburban road and an arterial corridor. This is a recognised conflict. There is particularly strong opposition to the movement of B-double trucks and no assurance of the increased safety of these vehicles will offset community concern.
Blue Mountains Council strongly supports completion of the Maldon-Dombarton rail line and the Parkes intermodal terminal as positive ways to decrease road traffic away from the Blue Mountains.
Freight on rail is unanimously supported within Council and the community.
There is no consensus or support for the use of the Bells Line of Road as an alternate heavy traffic corridor. Blue Mountains Council is awaiting an update on the road from Roads and Maritime Services. The only agreement is that there should be a safety upgrade. There is significant opposition to the Bells Line of Road Expressway concept. This opposition is growing. Corridor reserves and environmental concerns are more important to local residents than taking stress off the Great Western Highway. Rail is seen as the answer to heavy freight concerns.
Alkane Resources (Michael Sutherland): Michael Sutherland Alkane's NSW Manager gave an overview of projects underway in the central west.
Tomingley Gold Project: Hoping for development approval later this year with an opening in 12 to 13 months.
Dubbo Zirconia Project: The lifespan of this project is expected to be 80 years with an initial establishment cost of $890,000. When operational it is anticipated that there will be one train in and one train out of the mine six days per week. A total of 500,000 tonnes ofreagents will be required each year to assist in processing. 350,000 tonnes of reagent will be moved by rail and the remainder by road. All rail movements will be via Newcastle.
Max Duffey commented that in the event of the Port of Newcastle doubling its coal loading capacity in the near future, some container traffic will not be handled due to the fact that Newcastle is a coal handling port, hence coal gets first preference. There could be an alternate route by using the Dubbo, Molong, Blayney, Co wra, Harden, Moss Vale or Maldon/Dombarton route to Port Kembla.
There could be other mines operating on that line, plus there are two wheat handling facilities situated on the line. Michael Sutherland advised that this had not been considered as it would cost an additional $50 million to open the long disused line.
Roads to Recovery Funding: The meeting noted with satisfaction the decision by the Federal Department of Infrastructure and Transport to extend the Roads to Recovery Program to 2018-19. Moved W West and seconded M Simpson that LRTC write to the Department of Infrastructure and Transport congratulating them on the decision to extend funding the program. Carried.
Narranderra -Tocumwal Rail Line reopening: Report tabled.
Proposed Gold and Copper Mine at Arthurville: Report from the floor. Under geological assessment.
Condolences: The meeting acknowledged with sadness the passing of LRTC
supporters Mike Allan, Cr. John Neville of Dubbo and Mrs Merle Simpson of Grenfell. Moved M Duffey and seconded J Drum that their support of the organisation be recorded and condolences be extended to family members. Carried.
Next meeting to be held in Katoomba on 11 August. CONFIRMED
Meeting closed: 12.22pm