Thursday, February 9, 2012

Rail Flange Noise Press Release and Petition

  
COMMUNITY ANGER AT GROWING FREIGHT TRAIN NOISE

Long-suffering residents of Cheltenham and Beecroft have had enough, and are demanding action from local State member, Greg Smith MP, to have his Government tell the residents what is happening and bring about regulatory reform to combat freight train noise pollution in his electorate.

Third line for freight only to increase freight train movements from 29 to 44 per day
The NSW Liberal Government is building a freight-only line through our community in order to increase freight train movements by 50% through the leafy 2119 suburbs. Community sentiment has now snapped.

·         The Northern Sydney Freight Corridor Program is currently in the final stages of concept design and review of environmental factors. Subject to final planning approvals, works on the Epping to Thornleigh Third Track will commence in 2012 and are expected to be completed by late 2016.
·         By 2015 the construction of approximately six kilometres of new track on the western side of the existing track between Epping and Thornleigh
·         No information is available about the impact of this corridor on the 2119 community – will it mean loss of parking at Cheltenham and Beecroft, will the children’s playground at Beecroft be lost. These details are just not known.

Greg Smith MP needs to recognise the issue and act decisively
Local MP has asked for yet more evidence of community anger and so a petition is available for support.

Our Liberal MP – Attorney-General Smith is now in a position to get something done,” said BCCT President, Michael Stove, said. “Out of power, Greg Smith berated the Labor State Government for neglect of the people of his electorate. This horrendous freight train screeching has been going on since the 1980s but the third freight line is the last straw,” said Stove.

Local residents are demanding installation of noise mitigants now and some information about what is being proposed. While the BCCT supports freight movement by train the private freight train operators must be made to comply with our current noise pollution laws. Railcorp engineers know that it is the bogies of these operators’ rolling stock that is the chief contributor but both Railcorp and the Environmental Protection Agency are apparently powerless to doing anything apart from write letters to the freight train operators highlighting the problem

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