Noise, vibration and air quality are the three main concerns of the nearby residents that will be affected by the upcoming Scone rail reconfiguration project.
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Several community members voiced their concerns to Australian Rail Track Corporation staff at a community information session last week.
About 25 residents attended the session at Scone Neighbourhood Centre where five representatives were in hand including two project managers and a noise specialist.
The rail infrastructure upgrade is set to start in January next year, to upgrade the mainline and realign the track adjacent to Scone railway station, to increase the speed coal and freight trains can pass through town and therefore the capacity of the track in line with the 2013-2022 Hunter Valley Corridor Capacity Strategy.
The work is predicted to take about six to eight months to complete in which time a full traffic management plan will be in place.
The ARTC undertook initial noise monitoring in June to gauge the base levels to compare with the effects of the trains increasing from 25km/hr to 50km/hr.
“On an engineering scale the project is not massive, but we appreciate people have concerns and there will be significant noise which is never pleasant, so we want to keep people informed.”
Recognising that nearby residents may have concerns, the project team are endeavouring to cover all areas of reasonable and feasible mitigation and ensure residents understand the project, as well as addressing their worries.
The Upper Hunter Shire Council has also been working closely with the ARTC to ensure the resident’s voices are heard.
Local nearby resident Peter Wilkinson said he believes the best option would be turning the trains out of town through a rail bypass.
He said his main concerns were the noise and dust as they already get a lot of black dust in their backyard.
Mr Wilkinson said he spoke to a local real estate agent last week who told him his place would be de-valued by up to $100,000 after the reconfiguration, so he is not happy about it.
Local motel owner Trevor Kratzmann said his biggest concern was the impact of noise and vibration as they already feel it when a train passes their location at Scone Motor Inn.
ARTC spokesperson Bas Bolyn confirmed this particular project only has the capacity for trains to deliver speeds of 50km/hr so there is no plan to later increase to 80km/hr.
He said the project aimed to clear the current bottleneck where trains have to slow down, as the heavier rail will allow trains to pass through faster.
Mr Bolyn said there would be a road closure at one stage of the project affecting the New England Highway, however full traffic management will be in place and a shuttle bus will be used to transport pedestrians.
“On an engineering scale the project is not massive, but we appreciate people have concerns and there will be significant noise which is never pleasant, so we want to keep people informed.”
The ARTC will be conducting further community consultation in coming months and welcomed anyone with questions to contact the community information line on 1800 182 543.