INLAND Rail has come under further criticism with only single stacked container trains able to travel the final 36km from Acacia Ridge to the Port of Brisbane.
Toowoomba lawyer Dan Creevey, Creevey Russell, said the final connection of the controversial $14.5 billion project lacked logic and if implemented would be inefficient and cause traffic chaos and increased pollution.
"Trains that are single stack will be able to travel via Acacia Ridge to the Port of Brisbane using the existing dual gauge rail connection," Mr Creevey said
"But in the case of double stacked freight trains arriving at Acacia Ridge, these will need to be downloaded and re-loaded onto single stack trains.
"The Port of Brisbane Authority, the Infrastructure Association of Queensland and AgForce together with other parties have been pressing for this position to be resolved so that double stacked freight trains can travel directly from Inland Rail through to the Port of Brisbane."
Mr Creevey said a Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by the Port of Brisbane showed a dedicated rail line to the Port of Brisbane could take 2.4 million trucks a year off the road.
However, If no action was taken there would be a massive increase in freight trucks resulting in significantly increased traffic congestion and pollution, he said.
Australian Rail Track Corporation defended the project saying Inland Rail was being delivered to transport domestic freight primarily between terminals in Melbourne and Brisbane - one of the busiest domestic freight corridors in the country.
"The Inland Rail Business Case indicates that approximately 75 per cent of revenue estimated to be generated by Inland Rail will be from intercapital - that is freight travelling between the capital cities of Melbourne and Brisbane," a statement issued to Queensland Country Life reads.
"The majority of goods transported on Inland Rail will be distributed locally by road from intermodal terminals such as Acacia Ridge and Bromelton, which are the origin or destination of the bulk of the forecast rail traffic on Inland Rail.
"The project's business case also indicates that staged investment in capacity enhancement to the existing Acacia Ridge to the Port of Brisbane route can meet demand until 2040-41."
Mr Creevey said despite the obvious shortcomings in the Acacia Ridge to Port of Brisbane leg, Inland Rail was moving slowly but "with the inexorable might of a fully laden Pilbara iron ore train".
That meant more land on the Inland Rail route would be resumed.
"If you have not yet been approached by ARTC or the Department of Main Roads and Transport it is highly likely that you will be shortly after the final approval and conditions are granted for relevant sections," Mr Creevey said.
Mr Creevey said landholders said preparatory actions to maximise your compensation claim."
AgForce chief executive officer Mike Guerin said the nation building project required the best engineering solutions possible, including addressing the "first and last mile" of the project.
Those "engineering solutions possible" included protecting the agriculturally important Condamine River floodplain.
Mr Guerin also stressed that any landholders directly affected by the project needed to be generously compensated.
Meanwhile, an Inland Rail Summit is set to be held in Toowoomba in September in a bid to strengthen support for the controversial project.
Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Paul Antonio said he wanted to leverage as much as possible from the Inland Rail to build prosperity across regional Australia.
"Inland Rail is a complex project and one that needs the combined effort of local, state and federal governments to be successful," Cr Antonio said.
The summit will be hosted by business group Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE), which has strongly supported the project.
Inland Rail builder, the Australian Rail Track Corporation, has also thrown its support behind the event.
Cr Antonio said he would also be approaching the new Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King to play a central role in the summit.
Ms King's support will be crucial. Prior to the election, the then opposition infrastructure spokesperson said there were real concerns about the escalating cost of the 1715km line.
The entire Inland Rail project between the Port of Melbourne and the Port of Brisbane would be reviewed if Labor won government, she said.
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