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Friday, 4th June, 2004

MEDIA RELEASE

Rail Lobby Welcomes New Freight Line

"The Rail Now Campaign welcomes the Commonwealth - State agreement to build a new freight line through south-western Sydney," its spokesperson, Philip Howell, said today. "We have some quibbles with the detail, but overall the project will be a major step forward."

The proposed Southern Sydney Freight Line will consist of an extra track adjacent to the southern railway line between Macarthur and Sefton Park Junction. It is forecast to cost $192 million over the next 5 years.

"This line is long overdue. For years the principal barrier to getting freight off roads and on to rail has been a lack of 'train paths'. The lines have simply been blocked by passenger trains. The obvious solution is to build more railways," said Mr Howell.

"Next the Governments should re-design the Parramatta-Epping rail link so that it can carry freight between the western line at Granville and the main northern line north of Epping. To date, that line has been assessed on its ability to carry passengers only."

"After that, our Governments should tackle the second major barrier to getting freight on to rail - the lack of rail access to newer industrial areas. For example, it should be possible to get trucks off our roads by building a line from Yennora out through the industrial areas of Wetherill Park towards Eastern Creek."

[Contact Philip Howell on 9891 3657(W) or 0408 486 433 or 9633 3941(H) or howell@bigpond.net.au]