Article: Mayors lobby transport minister to retain rail

[ozbob]

From the Warrego Watchman 8th August 2013 page 6

Mayors lobby transport minister to retain rail

South West QLD mayors pleaded their case for the retention of rail services at last week's bush councils conference in Longreach. Despite doubts the services could ever be viable, Murweh mayor Denis Cook, economic development officer John Nicholson, Quilpie mayor Stuart Mackenzie and Quilpie CEO Dave Burgess lobbied transport minister Scott Emerson over freight and cattle trains.

Though Paroo and Bulloo representatives were absent, the four shires of the south west economical development group will make in a submission to a state government review of livestock transport, which follows an early review of passenger trains. "We want the railway to continue. We don't want to lose the rail. That's basically what the submission is all about," Denis said. "There's always been a hold up in getting cattle trains down the range to Brisbane because it's just coal, coal, coal. In our submission, we'll look at unloading all the cattle before it reaches Toowoomba or Brisbane, maybe in Dalby and places like that." He said the submission would take into account all stakeholders including cattle graziers, agents, rail workers and abattoirs, and needs to be lodged by October. The other issue the review will address is road damage caused by cattle trucks, which could prove more costly to councils.

"If the rail is used again for cattle and freight, it will relieve the road and traffic damage. The minister certainly wanted to keep cattle and freight rail, but he remained non committal on passenger trains," Denis said. The state government subsidises passenger rail in the south west to the tune of $14 million a year. Stuart raised concerns that rail operates as a wasted service but has the capacity to become viable again under the review. "It's a service that could work very well. We have a railway track that's being maintained by the government but it's just not being used and is putting a huge amount of pressure on our roads and transport." The state government funds a few permanent rail maintenance workers at Quilpie and Charleville, though some have been relocated back to Brisbane.

Stuart also acts as the vice chairman on the QId tourism association and remains more optimistic about passenger rail in the region after meetings in Brisbane last month. "If these services are going to be viable, we needed a review. It's really about tourism and trains not just as a means of getting from A to B." He said passenger trains hadn't been to Quilpie for five or six years and hoped the Westlander could be reviewed to generate tourist interest. Comparatively, the Spirit of the Outback, which travels from Brisbane to Longreach was often full with about 200 passengers. "The most important and critical factor of rail right now is to get in our submission" Stuart said.

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 21st August 2013 page 9

Emerson could save our quality train services

[ozbob]

I get a lot of feedback concerning non responses from the Ministers' offices  ...  and when they do receive correspondence it is generally just spin and nonsense ....

Sad indictment on a pretend 'Can-Do' Government ...