{"id":171792,"date":"2017-03-06T17:53:34","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T07:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=171792"},"modified":"2020-09-21T17:24:09","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T07:24:09","slug":"mayor-pushes-for-rail-commitment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/03\/06\/mayor-pushes-for-rail-commitment\/","title":{"rendered":"Mayor Pushes For Rail Commitment"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Paul<\/a>
Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

March 6, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

Toowoomba Mayor Paul Antonio has called on the Federal Government for a solid forward-funding commitment to build the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail line in the upcoming 2017-18 Budget.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt makes sense for the next stage of this transformational transport infrastructure project to start in Toowoomba,\u201d Mayor Antonio said.<\/p>\n

The Mayor, in collaboration with Toowoomba Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE), last week hosted a Transport and Logistics Symposium with key industry and government stakeholders along the route to highlight the opportunities the project would deliver to the region and the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll levels of government and industry agree the project will be catalytic to contributing to unprecedented economic growth in Australia, so let\u2019s get on, take the project to the market and get it built,\u201d Mayor Antonio said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere also is strong industry agreement that the connection be operational all the way from the Port of Melbourne to the Port of Brisbane, recognising that as well as the line being fast and as efficient as possible, there also must be absolute priority given to servicing Australia\u2019s most agriculturally productive regions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Antonio said the Toowoomba Region was the place to start because it included one of the fundamental sections of the line.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Gowrie to Kagaru component is one of the most complex and costly sections of the project with the tunnel through the Toowoomba Range expected to cost in the order $2 billion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Queensland State Government also has a key role in progressing the Queensland sections of the project, so I\u2019m also asking for bipartisan support at the State level in preventing any unnecessary delays.\u201d<\/p>\n