Press conference, Glenrowan

JOURNALIST: Minister, how exciting is it to get this bridge open?

CATHERINE KING: Well, it is terrific, and how amazing is this view? Can I just say to the Glenrowan Primary School kids, they did a great job helping with the ribbon‑cutting today, because that’s really what this is all about. It’s about making sure we get Inland Rail, getting those double‑stacked trains into Inland Rail, but more importantly making sure we keep this community at Glenrowan connected, and those kids able to get to school safely.

Not only is it a bridge, it also has a terrific cycle path beside it, separating pedestrians and cyclists from the traffic, again a really important safety measure, but a great day for Glenrowan.

JOURNALIST: What does this bridge mean for travelling freight around Australia?

CATHERINE KING: Well, Inland Rail is a $14 billion project, and the first part of it is really getting from Beveridge to Parkes, and we’re concentrating on that part at the moment. Being able to get double‑stacked, getting more trucks off our roads, not only is that good for road safety, it’s also good for making sure we have less emissions as we transport freight around the country.

Inland Rail is a really important project; it’s a really significant part of changing the way freight moves around Australia.

JOURNALIST: And this also transforms the community around it as well, is that right?

CATHERINE KING: Well, as you’ve seen the projects along this part of Inland Rail, and we’re working our way through community by community, as we have to lift bridges, or lower roads, or really change the way in which a town works.

I really do want to say to the construction company and to Inland Rail and the ARTC, it’s really important the work that they are doing with communities, because it does change the way in which a community actually, and a town actually moves around as well, and also builds new –you know, often some of the bridges and facilities that are in communities such as this are often over 100 years old. And the fact that now we’re replacing them with brand‑new infrastructure, infrastructure people haven’t seen for a long time, it’s a terrific opportunity for communities to not only build new parks, open up their town in a different way.

JOURNALIST: Yep. And Inland Rail is a massive, huge project. Days like these don’t come around too often. How great is it to celebrate these wins?

CATHERINE KING: Well, we’re going to see more of these as the construction really ramps up on Inland Rail through Victoria and through New South Wales. I want to get it open to Parkes in 2027, that’s the aim to be able to actually start realising the vision of Inland Rail, where we can actually get to start to get freight moving, at least to Parkes, then it can get through to Newcastle and then over to the west of the country as well.

Once we do that bit, we’re also doing all of the planning work that’s required beyond Parkes to really look how at how we then speed up construction on that part. But the first is really getting it to Parkes in 2027.

JOURNALIST: You did mention it was an ambitious target. Are you confident you can reach that 2027 goal?

CATHERINE KING: Well, that’s the expectation of Government, and I’m sure our new CEO of Inland Rail is working really hard to make sure that occurs. There’s a lot of construction work; you’ll see more contracts being led here in Victoria, that planning work’s starting throughout Queensland as well, but you know, we’re really confident that the rate of progress we’re seeing on Inland Rail, actually seeing that construction not only start, but actually finish here in Glenrowan, that we’ll meet that target.

JOURNALIST: Do you have much feedback from the community this morning? I guess there was a little bit of anxiety when the project was first announced how it would impact the town.

CATHERINE KING: Yeah, look, with any of the infrastructure projects there are always really difficult decisions to be made, and we’re changing things, so particularly where you’ve had infrastructure that might have been in place for over 100 years, and that’s really what the planning process is about, trying to make sure that the community’s consulted, that engagement happens, that we actually value the things that communities value as we are changing that infrastructure. I think we’ve done a really good job here at Glenrowan making sure that actually occurs.

Thank you, all done? Thank you, over to you.

JOURNALIST: Just from your end, how excited are you to open this wonderful bridge today?

NICK MILLER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, INLAND RAIL: Oh, this is a very exciting milestone for Inland Rail, obviously lifting the spirits, demolishing the old bridge, providing access for double‑stacked trains, shows we’re getting on with the job of building Inland Rail.

It’s also great to have the community here. This is going to create great accessibility for the community, to the historical sites that exist in this town. It improves safety outcomes for all the community, so great to have the community on board and be with us here today.

JOURNALIST: And what will double stacked freights travelling through Australia in the way that we’ve developed – what will that mean for the country?

NICK MILLER: Well, it is about the missing link in terms of freight in Australia, getting the freight networks opened, initially from Beveridge to Parkes, getting double‑stacked trains operating by the end of 2027. And that’s about efficiency, it’s also about safety, getting trucks off the road, and it’s about sustainability as well, reducing our carbon footprint associated with moving freight around Australia.

JOURNALIST: And these are some huge goals, but on the ground in Glenrowan, what’s the appearance been like dealing with this community?

NICK MILLER: Sure, there’s always complexities around infrastructure projects in communities, though the existing infrastructure’s been here in some cases for over 100 years, and there’s material change associated with this project, but we have really had a great relationship with the Glenrowan community, they’ve got on board with this project, we’ve worked closely with their stakeholders, to make sure that we’re integrating this infrastructure with their existing town, and we’ve generally had very good support.

JOURNALIST: And I understand it’s – like any construction project, it’s not always a smooth project. What have been some of the biggest challenges around this project?

NICK MILLER: Well, I think always you’ve got to work around coming up with different design solutions to work around those challenges from an engineering perspective, but absolutely engagement with the community around what’s important to them and modifying our design to accommodate those needs where possible.

Clearly there’s significant issues on the alignment around land acquisition, around cultural heritage, et cetera, and we’re working through those with the parties involved, so far very successfully.

JOURNALIST: Is there much left to do on the site? I guess there’s final clean‑up works and bits and pieces, or?

NICK MILLER: Sure. This is an interesting project, because there’s a demolition element to it, to demolish the old bridge, so we can’t complete all of the activities on this structure until the demolition occurs. So yes, the road will be open from next week, but there will be works going on till mid‑year on this site, and we expect to complete the remaining four sites by the middle of next year.

JOURNALIST: And is this a bit – I guess this is a bit trial and error, I guess it’s one of the first ones along this link, or is this a bit more unique to the other bridges along the Northeast?

SPEAKER: Well, I don’t like the term “trial and error”, but certainly every site’s got its specific challenges, and with the interaction with the community and with the designers, we work through those challenges. 

CATHERINE KING: Thanks everyone.

NICK MILLER: Thanks guys