McGirr backs bypass calls as Inland Rail reschedules Wagga visit

A small cohort of concerned community members converged on the Wagga Civic Centre precinct to voice concern over the project and how it is currently set to be delivered following the last-minute cancellation of a public drop-in session.

Following the release of the Albury to Illabo (A1I) Preferred Infrastructure Report (PIR) last week, Inland Rail began meeting with Riverina communities to answer questions and take feedback - however on Tuesday evening Wagga's session was postponed 18 hours before it was scheduled to begin.

On Wednesday at noon - the time the meeting was scheduled to begin - members of the public, a Wagga councillor and resident and ratepayer representatives turned out to voice their disapproval of the current state of affairs and call for a fairer process to hear what the community has to say.

Despite the cancellation of the drop-in session, four Inland Rail staff were at the Wagga City Library to advise any members of the public who turned up about the postponement.

Around 30 residents are understood to have arrived at the non-meeting, where they were advised it was to be rescheduled. Inland Rail later announced it will be held at Kyeamba Smith Hall at Wagga Showground between 3pm and 7pm on Tuesday.

Wagga City Councillor Richard Foley joined members of the public in inviting the ARTC leadership to visit the city to "answer some of the questions and the concerns of the community."

"I don't want to hear template answers or basic [comments]. We want to hear how they are going to tackle some of the major concerns people have about this project," Cr Foley said.

He reiterated that none of those he gathered with outside the Civic Centre on Wednesday were against the project.

"We just want to ensure if they are going to construct a nation-building [project] that we don't cop the rubbish end of it," he said.

Central Wagga resident Maureen Allen lives near the railway line and raised a number of concerns about the project including safety, security and increased volume of trains.

Ms Allen said the city needs "a bypass now".

"Why stuff around wasting our money building all this infrastructure rather than doing something long-term and much more beneficial to our city, rather than running it through here and meeting all sorts of opposition [along the way]," she said.

Responding to the news, state member for Wagga Joe McGirr said the postponement of the drop-in session over a planned protest was "disappointing".

"[This is] especially [so] as the point of the meeting was to gather community feedback," Dr McGirr said.

"However, I understand that the organisers have rescheduled the forum to a different location next week.

"It is important that appropriate senior personnel are present at the forum to properly address community concerns."

Backing an Inland Rail bypass for Wagga, Dr McGirr said he has written to the NSW Ministers for Planning and Regional Transport, requesting it be a condition of approval for the Inland Rail project and that there be a process to "identify and protect relevant easements to allow this to happen."

"This should happen when the project begins, noting the Schott Review of the project found communities such as Wagga are understandably concerned about the disruption the project may deliver and recommended an easement for a bypass should be preserved," Dr McGirr said.

"Simply put, a big increase in double-stacked trains through our city will have a major impact on transport and amenity in Wagga and the only solution is to begin planning now for a bypass that will remove this major inconvenience from the city.

"Until such time as the bypass is built, grade separation of the level crossings at Docker and Bourke streets should be a priority and Inland Rail and the federal government must work with state and local government to make that happen as soon as possible."

Inland Rail said the Wagga drop-in session was intended to offer one-on-one consultations for Wagga residents with Inland Rail staff specifically about the Albury to Illabo PIR, and had not been intended as a "larger public gathering."

"We postponed the event to allow us to make appropriate arrangements for a re-scheduled one, ensuring a safe environment for all those attending and to minimise disruption for the local community," an Inland Rail spokeperson said.

"We encourage residents with any questions on the A2I PIR to attend the re-scheduled drop-in session [next week]."

However, Inland Rail reiterated the re-scheduled session is "not a public forum."

"It is an event where Wagga residents can talk one-on-one with Inland Rail staff about the PIR," the spokesperson said.

"Residents can ask questions about the impact of Inland Rail on their own properties or businesses and get assistance in lodging a submission to the Department of Planning and Environment on the PIR.

"Inland Rail has engaged extensively with Wagga Wagga residents since 2017 and looks forward to further engagement as we proceed with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment approvals process.

"Wagga residents can get further details on the re-scheduled Wagga drop-in session from the events page on the Inland Rail website and can read the A2I PIR summary of findings report here."

In April, The Schott Inland Rail Review found "no immediate changes" should be made to the proposed Inland Rail route through Wagga "until there is a clear indication that train traffic is increasing."

This was in light of "extensive studies and consideration" put into selecting the present Inland Rail route.

But the review also found that modifications to lessen any increased disruption caused by more train traffic should be given very serious consideration and adopted, including noise reduction, additional bridge crossings and grade separation.