I object to the rail project because of the increased congestion, noise, pollution and other safety concerns related to the proposed rail project and the mine in the Berrima area.

I strongly object to the increased noise level in our quiet village of Berrima

Hume Coal admits there will be an increase in air polution. This coming from exhaust fumes and coal dust which I find most unacceptable and a potential health risk.

The coal dust is a major concern as it impacts the health of children and the elderly

1) NOISE
The rail proposal situated so close to the most intact Georgian village on mail land Australia is so absurd its beyond belief.
This will have terrible consequences for the entire Southern Highlands. Increased rail traffic through residential areas. Numerous level rail crossings on very busy road ways is unacceptable.

2) RAIL MAINTENANCE FACILITIES
Situated right on the main entrance to the Southern Highlands and the Berrima Village id crazy

I am a resident of Berrima having lived here for 15 years.

I object to proposed rail extension on the gruonds that it will add to the highly visible mine infrastructure just 2 kilometers from Berrima.
It will also add to the noise generated by the mine operations due to the rail maintenance services which will be located in the same area.
The kilometer long coal train will make 8 journeys everday on the line to Port Kembla creating dust and noise as it travels.
The risk to local and visting motorist from the increased traffic across 2 major level crossings is greatly increased as a result of these coal train journeys.
The daily closures at rail crossings wil increase from 69 minutes to 93 minutes every day.

SSD 7171 Berrima Rail Extension.
I note that my submission is not to be summarised and is copyright in entirety
I am opposed to the SSD 7171 Berrima Rail Extension development for the following reasons.
One can ascertain that this rail loop could provide the opportunity for an amenable local industrial symbiosis to be brokered between Boral cement works and Hume coal in that Hume coal could supply the coal to Boral to make the cement that is poured into the ground to hold the contaminated water produced from extracting the coal. A diabolical exchange that could provide employment in what I perceive would be a somewhat Faustian bargain.
The Rail extension should not be approved. The coal should be left in the ground so that the acquifer and groundwater are not jeopardised and other energy sources could be investigated by Boral for firing their cement kilns.
The Berrima rail extension would enable the opportunistic appropriation of a historical rail link to the coast that should permit some freight but also be reinstated for passenger trains to increase commuter opportunities for education and employment and to develop tourism between the Highlands and the coast.
The steep incline of the rail makes it unsuitable for the continuous long coal trains that are proposed. Presumably could be why NSW transport is revisiting the completion of the Maldon Dombarton Link as a freight line.
There would l be additional significant delays for residents at numerous rail crossings awaiting the passage of full and empty coal trains.
Trains both loaded with coal and unloaded would generate significant noise pollution.
Even if covered there is a strong likelihood that trains both loaded with coal and unloaded would generate dust which will pose a risk to health.
I am concerned by additional delays to emergency vehicles at level crossings caused by the proposed coal trains both in terms of their length and freqency.
The Berrima Rail extension proposed by Hume Coal is not commensurate with Wingecarribee Shire land use trends and preferred land use in the area and is incompatible with existing approved or likely preferred uses.

I object to the appropriation of land zoned SP2 infrastructure in terms of loss of future amenity with regard to Council's plans for the future.

Rail works are not permitted in SP2 E2 and E3 zones so I strongly object to the sophistry by which 'permissability' has been argued in by Hume Coal in 4.2.3
This proposed displacement of specific land use would mean that the proposed rail extension would affect possible future choices by external parties with respect to these zones.

This is a wonderful project and will support the creation of 300 jobs for the local economy. I have two girls both born and bred in the Highlands. I would like for the project to proceed so that they can be given every opportunity to become successful adults. Unfortunately our local Council's current vision for the shire does not provide me with the confidence that they have a credible path for economic development within our shire, as they continue to approve new housing development but seem quite clueless about how to support a job-generating economy. We must support our primary industries which provide the raw materials to job-generating manufacturing industries. The Berrima Rail Project does this.

Please No.
We should have the opportunity to live in a safe environment, free from known causes of harm that adversely impact quality of life
Passenger Congestion
There are enough congestion related issues on the rail corridors in the area that area already underfunded without adding to the problem, especially given how important the rail connection is between the region and Sydney (not everyone can afford a car) - morning and afternoon peak hour trains frequently experience delays and miss local connections within the city network as it is
Noise
Noise carries - particularly late at night (on a still night you can clearly hear the freight trains passing through) so any plans to run trains outside of peak hours to avoid rail congestion will have a significantly greater impact on noise pollution than day time trains.

Coal dust
Why limit the impact when you can spread it over a wide area or just hope the wind blows in the other direction? Numerous concerns have been raised about both the environmental and health impacts from coal dust in the Hunter Valley north of Sydney, none of which seem to have been resolved sufficiently to date - it is strongly likely that the Southern Highlands will be met with the same known issues with inadequate resolutions, negatively impacting the environment health (particularly for those sensitive to respiratory issues)

Again, please reject the Berrima Rail Project

Kind regards

Fabia Palmer

I live in Medway. I need to drive over these rail lines everyday. This proposal will cause delays for local traffic at every crossing.

I am concerned about this for the following reasons:
- I need to take my wife to medical appointments, and a delay waiting for a coal train to pass may not just be inconvenient, but life threatening
- These extra coal trains will cause an increase in my commute time
- These extra coal trains will inconvenience and risk the safety of my clients to travel to see me
- The extension to the rail line will be very close to my home in Medway. The noise and air pollution will be dangerous to my health. This rail extension will result in a profound loss of lifestyle

I implore the decision maker to reject this proposal.

Please don't force me to leave my home, otherwise I will be living in a hospital suffering from severe asthma.

I'm writing to express my extreme distress at the Hume Coal and associated Berrima Rail project proposals (SSD 7172 Mine and SSD 7171 Berrima Rail Extension) currently on public exhibition.

In 2014 I returned to Australia after a decade's absence abroad. I relocated to the Southern Highlands specifically to improve my child's health and in search of a quality of life which had been absent in our lives.

The move was not without considerable upheaval and trauma, but I'm relieved to be able to say that my child's health has reached a relatively normal status quo since settling into Southern Highlands life, and we've become part of the fabric in terms of business, community, schooling, friendships, church and so much more - not something which is easily or automatically achieved.

Unfortunately, this has not been without threat and fear looming over the longevity and security of our new life. Soon after we arrived, I was stunned and shocked to discover that a previous State Government had recklessly sold out various parts of the country to mining interests, and in particular had jeopardised the unique economy, environment and heritage of the Southern Highlands. The ignorance of such a decision beggars belief. The long term consequences don't bear thinking about.

My child's school sits near the railway line which would transport daily tonnes of coal to foreign ports, thereby dispersing micro particles of polluting coal dust into her respiratory system as she learns and plays - the very demon we were fleeing in another country. Not to mention toxic contaminants into the waterways, livestock and soil of the food bowl we and so many others rely on. The regular and characteristic high winds would also magnify the noise. The unique micro climate which creates the landscape of the area would be annihilated by the loss of underground water, thereby wiping out the natural attributes on which it so heavily depends for tourism and agriculture, as well as eliminating the backup water supply for the Sydney metropolitan area. How could such a decision have been taken, which would so clearly undermine and destroy this rare and unique destination, which would so easily jeopardise Australia's largest CBD only 90 minutes away?

The local community opposition has been echoed far and wide, with the most common response being disbelief at a decision which is so evidently wrong, that it couldn't possibly eventuate - surely common sense will prevail, surely it's so obvious. But where short term mercenary greed and gain have a chance, not to mention South Korean interests that have no care for long term local legacies, nothing is secure.

Please right the wrong by rejecting these proposals once and for all - before it's too late for this generation and the ones that follow. And give us certainty that no back door has been left open for future exploitation. The stress and trauma of not knowing our future is debilitating. Enough lives have been destroyed by mining, enough environments have been irretrievably raped by mining in all its shapes and forms. Coal is a dead fuel, which major parts of the developed world have realised and unequivocally acted on by replacing with sustainable and economically viable alternatives - surely NSW can lead the way in this, rather than follow in the wake of past mistakes once the damage has been irreversibly done?

Faithfully and hopefully

Local resident