Inland Rail – Calvert to Kagaru project - draft terms of reference for an environmental impact statement

Overview

Queensland's Coordinator-General invites you to have your say on the draft terms of reference (TOR) for an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Inland Rail – Calvert to Kagaru project.

Prepared by the Coordinator-General, the draft TOR sets out the matters to be studied within the EIS. You are invited to comment on whether the draft TOR adequately covers all the matters  Australian Rail Track Corporation Limited (ARTC) must address when preparing the EIS.

About the project

The proponent, ARTC, proposes to develop an inland rail line between Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, central-west New South Wales and Toowoomba. The rail line would be approximately 1710 kilometres long and would use the existing interstate rail line where possible.

The Inland Rail – Calvert to Kagaru project would be one of five corridor sections to be located in Queensland. The route would generally be within the gazetted future railway land of the Southern Freight Rail Corridor identified by the state government. The project would require a land corridor with an average width of 60 metres. The corridor would be of sufficient width to accommodate future upgrades, including a possible requirement to accommodate trains up to 3600 metres long.

Key components of the project include:

• a new 53 kilometre single-track dual-gauge freight rail line to accommodate double stack freight trains up to 1800 metres long
• approximately 1.1 kilometres of tunnels through the Teviot Range
• construction of rail infrastructure, culverts, bridges, viaducts and crossing loops
• connection to the existing West Moreton and Interstate railway lines
• ancillary works, including road and public utility crossings and realignments.

How to comment

There are a number of different ways to provide comments on this draft TOR. You only need to provide comments using one of these methods.

1. Read the draft TOR here

OR

Visit one of the following display locations between 28 August 2017 and 25 September 2017 to view a printed copy of the draft TOR:

• Ipswich Library, Global Information Centre, 40 South Street, Ipswich
• Ipswich Mobile Library
• Beaudesert Library, 58 Brisbane Street, Beaudesert
• State Library of Queensland, Cultural Centre, Stanley Place, South Bank, Brisbane
• National Library of Australia, Parkes Place, Canberra.

2. Provide your comments by clicking on the 'Make a comment' link below

OR

Send your comments to one of the following:

• Email: inlandrailc2k@coordinatorgeneral.qld.gov.au
   
• Post: The Coordinator-General
  c/- The EIS Project Manager - Inland Rail – Calvert to Kagaru
  Coordinated Project Delivery
  Office of the Coordinator-General
  PO Box 15517
  City East Qld 4002 Australia
   
• Fax: +61 7 3220 6502

Note: If you wish to attach anything (e.g. maps, images or supporting documents), please use the email option instead of the online form.

What Happens Next

The Coordinator-General will consider all comments received on the draft terms of reference (TOR), then issue a final TOR to the project proponent. The proponent then has 18 months to prepare a draft environmental impact statement in accordance with the final TOR.