Since October, the council and residents have been seeking confirmation that a proposed rail siding extension, designed to accommodate Veolia Environmental Services waste trains, has been put on hold.

At least that was the promise made in a meeting at Parliament House on September 27, Tarago and District Progress Association (TADPAI) secretary Adrian Ellson said. The meeting involved TADPAI, Goulburn MP Pru Goward, Mayor Bob Kirk and council general manager Warwick Bennett, Transport for NSW staffer Sharon Bennett and representatives of Transport Minister Melinda Pavey’s office.

“We minuted the meeting and we have it on record that Transport for NSW said it (the siding) would be put on hold until other options were investigated,” TADPAI vice-president Judy Alcock told a council outreach meeting on Tuesday.

Despite this verbal communication, the council has been unsuccessful in its request to Transport for NSW to confirm this in writing. Deputy Mayor Peter Walker said the council had written two letters to the Minister’s office and followed up with two phone calls, one as recently as Monday. 

“But we’ve been told today by Pru’s office that definitely no decision has been made on it (the siding),” he said.

Ms Goward confirmed this on Wednesday, saying options were still being explored.

Town up in arms over train odour

Tarago scores help over Veolia's trains

Transport for NSW also issued a statement saying the project was on hold until it consulted with the community and “reassessed the proposed options to free up the main line at Tarago which would provide more efficient network rail access and operations.” 

But residents say they’ve been told differently.

Mr Ellson said Tarago School P&C Paige Davis was informed during a telephone conversation with Ms Bennett that the siding was continuing and Transport for NSW didn’t agree with the meeting’s outcome.

He told Tuesday’s forum that it was very difficult for people to believe the train loop wasn’t proceeding because people were doing work on it. This was despite the fact the NSW Department of Planning had not yet approved the extension.

“We’re very unhappy with the situation,” he said.

“To a certain extent we believe we’ve been railroaded to have Sydney’s waste coming over our back paddock. The least they (Veolia) could do is park up their trains outside the town boundaries.”

Resident Paul Beileiter said the entire village had signed a petition stating they didn’t want the trains parked in the town due to the smell but “it meant nothing to them (Transport for NSW).”

The town is unhappy that “stinking” garbage trains are parking at the siding, awaiting entry into Veolia’s Crisps Creek intermodal. But they also fear it will become permanent under Transport for NSW’s plan to extend the siding. It is using a $7.7 million Infrastructure NSW grant and $900,000 from Veolia on the project.

The extension will mean loaded waste trains no longer need to be broken up and shunted but can move directly to Crisps Creek.

Residents raised their concerns with Ms Goward and the council and thought they had scored a breakthrough at the September 27 meeting in Ms Pavey’s office. 

Mr Bennett and Ms Goward asked Transport for NSW to explore other options and in the meantime put the siding on hold, TADPAI vice-president Judy Alcock said.

The council GM has also since sought to confirm with Ms Pavey’s office that “an informal but separate business case” would be conducted to determine if the rail siding could be relocated to Crisps Creek, as he understood was agreed at the meeting. Mr Bennett further requested that the council and Progress Association be provided a copy of this document.

Mr Ellson said people had been measured in their response to date but the “complete lack of information” was wearing. TADPAI was writing to the Premier and was again taking up the matter with Ms Goward, who he said had been extremely helpful.

“The only beneficiaries of this siding are Veolia and Access Recycling in Canberra. Nobody else will get the benefit of it,” he said.

Yet the village, including nearby school students, had to put up with the odour and vibrations from parked trains.

“We’re happy to work with the government and Veolia on a solution but the big issue is that we’ve been promised – and we have it in writing – that no waste trains would be parked on the siding,” Mr Ellson said.

Cr Walker urged residents not to give up in their efforts to seek clarity from NSW Transport but said the council couldn’t act on anything until it also received advice in writing.

Ms Goward said residents contacted her in August with their concerns about the siding and its location behind the school. 

“Since then, I have had multiple conversations and meetings between Transport for NSW, Goulburn Mulwaree Council, Veolia and the Tarago community,” she said in a statement.

“The options for this project are still being explored and the NSW Government is committed to ensuring that the (the siding) supports the overall freight network, freight operations, stakeholder requirements and, most importantly, reduces the impact of freight to the community of Tarago.

“Minister for Freight, Melinda Pavey is working closely with me to find a solution for Tarago residents. We are all working very hard to find the best solution for the community. I have a great relationship with Veolia and my discussions have indicated that they are very keen for a solution that Tarago residents will be happy to have. 

“I am confident that Transport for NSW will complete further community consultation to alleviate concerns of local residents before a final decision is made.”

Meantime, Veolia has distanced itself from the project, saying Transport for NSW was running the process.

NSW Group general manager Ben Sullivan said the siding was designed to free up a “bottleneck” on the Goulburn to Canberra rail line, giving priority to commuter trains.

“The main benefit for Veolia is to minimise the time our trains spend on the line before they enter Crisps Creek...and to give more efficiency in and out of the intermodal,” he said.

Asked whether Veolia ever considered extending Crisps Creek siding instead, Mr Sullivan deferred to Transport for NSW’ investigations, concluding that the Tarago loop extension was the best option.

He rejected residents’ claims that Veolia simply didn’t want to pay for the infrastructure on its own land, pointing to the $700,000 contribution to the extension.

Woodlawn Eco- precinct manager Henry Gundry told The Post that in 2016 Veolia in fact applied to the State’s Fixing Country Rail program to extend the Crisps Creek siding.

“The challenge for us was putting public funds into private infrastructure,” he said.

“Transport for NSW (subsequently) suggested the most beneficial option from a public point of view was the Tarago extension and suggested we apply under stage two of the program.”

Mr Gundry said Veolia “would and could” consider a larger siding at Crisps Creek but only taking advantage of the Infrastructure NSW scheme.

Regarding a future rail spur into the Veolia precinct, Mr Sullivan said it was an option in the future but there had been no thorough planning or discussions with Heron Resources, which shared the site. In the end, it would be a commercial consideration.

Meantime, the company continued to work with the community on odour concerns.

“The maintenance of containers is a priority,” he said.

“Each container has rubber seals and filters and we inspect those as they come out of Clyde and at Crisps Creek.”

Mr Sullivan could not comment on residents’ claims that leachate was dropping onto tracks at Tarago, causing the odour.

However Mr Gundry said Veolia, John Holland Rail and Transport for NSW were working to reduce the time trains spent at Tarago siding.

“There has already been a positive outcome,” he said. 

A community liaison committee is in the process of being resurrected but in the meantime, Veolia representatives are attending TADPAI meetings to hear any concerns.

“The community is a prime consideration with everything we do,” Mr Sullivan said.  

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