The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is unearthing new opportunities for landowners in the Central West to reap benefits of the Inland Rail programme.
Landowners in the vicinity of the Narromine to Narrabri area are encouraged to register their interest in supplying borrow pit/quarry materials such as rock, gravel and soil. Inland Rail Project Director Duncan Mitchell said the material would be used to build the rail embankments during construction.
“Ideally, the location of borrow pits containing suitable general fill material would be within 25km of the Narromine to Narrabri study area. However, for competent rock which can be used to produce ballast rock, up to 50km from the study area could be considered. That means people in the Dubbo, Wee Waa, Trangie, Coonamble, Coonabarabran,
and Baradine areas should take a look at this opportunity.
ARTC will pay an extraction fee per tonne and will rehabilitate the borrow pits and cover with topsoil. There is also potential for land to become more usable, for example, if a hill is removed and land is flattened or if a hollow is left providing a new water catchment.”
Council leaders from Narromine and Narrabri are keen to see local landowners get involved. “We’ll need to import in excess of 3 million cubic metres of fill material, or the equivalent of about 1,200 Olympic-sized swimming pools,” Duncan said.
To register for the quarry material opportunity, visit the Inland Rail website https://inlandrail.artc.com.au/n2nborrow-pit-registration