COOMA and Monaro Progress Association (CMPA) members backing a Canberra to Eden rail link proposal are encouraged by the NSW Labor Government's announcement last month it has green lit development of a new strategy for a better regional rail network in the State for passengers and freight.

The Regional Network East/West Uplift (RNEW) program has been established to create a 10-year investment pipeline and strategy for rail infrastructure in regional NSW.

CMPA rail plan co-ordinator, Richard Hopkins, said this new program to shape the future of regional rail infrastructure could offer positive prospects for the Canberra to Eden rail link.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, Jenny Aitchison, said the NSW Government is committed to providing rail networks across the state that are effective, efficient and reliable for all users – freight and passengers.

"The RNEW program will take a fresh look at where regional rail infrastructure investment is needed, while putting proper evidence-based decision making at the forefront of planning, and giving industry, the Government and the public a clear vision for the future of the network," Ms Aitchison said.

"It will allow us to better understand, manage, forecast, and deliver improvements on the state’s regional rail network, bringing projects under one banner to ensure a holistic and strategic approach.

"Under the former government, regional rail infrastructure investment was determined on an ad-hoc basis without proper regard for the needs of the regional rail network in its entirety. Industry partners and other stakeholders were not always properly consulted, with initiatives like Fixing Country Rail … lacking a holistic, strategic focus, and projects often stuck in limbo for years.

“Regional communities have been calling for investment in rail infrastructure in the regions. This program will ensure any investment is made on the basis of robust planning and development to enrich our state.

“The program will enable the NSW Government to develop a long-term pipeline of infrastructure investment initiatives whilst being flexible and agile enough to address emerging network issues.”

The program will have a focus on opportunities to improve the Country Regional Network (CRN) which includes over 2,300 kilometres of operational rail lines and is vital for transporting 2.7 billion gross tonnes of freight annually and delivering more than 120 passenger services per week.

Linkages between the broader regional rail network and existing projects such as Inland Rail, the Freight Policy Reform and Regional Level Crossing programs will also be explored by the program team.

The RNEW program team will start engagement with freight industry, rail operators and users, and local government in 2025, with the strategy to be delivered in 2026.

"This could be opening the door a bit," Mr Hopkins said.

"Minister Aitchison mentions projects stuck in limbo for years, I take it that one of the projects could be the Canberra to Eden initiative."

CMPA's initiative did not receive support from the former NSW Government based on the economic results of a feasibility study, but undeterred, CMPA with specialist reviews refuted those results and later submitted its recommendation to the new Government.

“It was the former Cabinet who accepted the feasibility report after three successive submissions through Transport for NSW. The economic results can be described as devastatingly low.

"That result is like saying give up on the idea. We do not give up on the idea; we have demonstrated those figures are invalid and have submitted and later published specialists’ figures which are positively promising," Mr Hopkins said.

Earlier this year the NSW Labor Government announced its decision to run independent Freight Policy Reform consultations - the program is being informed by the Freight Policy Reform Advisory Panel and delivered by Transport for NSW, with the Minister for Transport, Jo Haylen, retaining responsibility for program oversight and decision making.

In the consultations CMPA submitted the proposed Canberra to Eden railway, in May 2024. More than 120 submissions were received and published on the Transport for NSW website.

"On railways, CMPA has been concentrating recently on the NSW Freight Policy Reform program," Mr Hopkins said (as published in the Monaro Post August 21, 2024).

"This is a one-in-20-year event that the NSW Government would conduct a freight policy reform program and appoint independent specialists to an advisory panel.

"The advisory panel in September 2024 published an Interim Directions paper, and invited responses to that, which we have duly given in October."

The Interim Directions paper marked some immediate actions for government and industry to undertake ahead of the Policy’s finalisation by the end of the year.

The paper looks at the end-to-end freight logistics chain, focusing on both industry and network policy.

The paper also makes recommendations on network issues such as pricing, infrastructure resilience and the future of ports, rail and road within the freight system.

CMPA’s initiative is described at www.coomansw.com.au