Inland Rail’s Narromine to Narrabri (N2N) project has received approval from the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
This Australian Government approval follows New South Wales Government approval and is a key step in the staged approach agreed to by the Australian Government in its response to the recommendations made by Dr. Kerry Schott for getting the delivery of Inland Rail back on track.
The approval will underpin the next stage of the design for the N2N project, Inland Rail’s longest section of track comprising over 300 kilometres of new track in mid-north-western New South Wales, helping provide more certainty that Inland Rail can be built to an agreed budget and time frame.
When constructed, the N2N project will link the completed Parkes to Narromine and Narrabri to North Star Phase 1 projects providing new freight capacity and improved connectivity to ports on the east coast and westwards via Parkes to Adelaide and Perth.
Rob Storey, Inland Rail Director Pre-Contracts explained that the N2N project is a key link in the future Inland Rail supply chain.
“Now that we have a full suite of approval conditions, the survey and investigation activities are critical inputs to the next stage of design and securing the land needed for the N2N project corridor.
“Inland Rail acknowledges the important input from the community, local landowners and businesses during the approvals process and remains committed to working with stakeholders.
“Inland Rail will support the shift of more goods onto rail, meaning faster, more reliable freight; safer, less congested roads; and fewer emissions.”
Moving forward, the N2N project team will continue to engage with NSW and local government and the community as we undertake necessary activities to further inform the design of the N2N project.
These activities include surveys and on-site investigations to help provide more certainty that Inland Rail can be built to an agreed budget and schedule.
Inland Rail is committed to ensuring that the final design of the project addresses and appropriately mitigates potential impacts to environment and social amenity in accordance with the approvals of the Federal and NSW governments.
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