No more trains & noise

We write this submission as very concerned residents of Berrima NSW..
My wife and I were attracted to Berrima as the Southern Highlands is an idyllic and historical region of NSW. The area is a relatively quiet and is far removed from the hectic pace of commerce and industrial activity. In short Berrima is an ideal town to enjoy our retirement years.
The Hume Coal proposed extended railway and the associated mine will shatter the piece and tranquility of Berrima and other areas of the Southern Highlands.
We have read the EIS and believe that it lacks specificity and fails to exhaustively address the key concerns of the community,
Notwithstanding the EIS lodged by Hume Coal we believe the proposal will
1. Introduce health concerns due to the unavoidable coal dust from the train traffic,
2. Create havoc from the extensive train line and the very high number of train movements,
3. Create traffic delays from the high number of railway crossings and overall train length,
4. Adversely affect overall tourism in the Sth Highlands with the resultant negative impact on small business owners,
5. Negatively impact on the varied and multiple wild life of the district.
In the very strongest terms we totally oppose this proposal which is totally out of character with this historic Georgian village and we urge Planning NSW to reject the proposal.

Allan Jones said it all "Mining in Bowral (Southern Highlands) for (blasphemous statement) sake - why would you?!!"

It makes NO sense. The Southern Highlands is an area of natural beauty, within cooee of Sydney. A draw card for tourism and JOY! NOT MINING and its associated rail extension, for (blasphemous statement) sake.

You will be receiving copious reasons for NOT mining and extending the rail line in the area. I don't intend to repeat them. It just makes NO sense. Please help us stop this insanity.

Berrima Railway Project should proceed. Sadly, apart from in Sydney, our rail network is being allowed to decline due to lack of use. This decline due to lack of use, is a chicken and egg problem. Any proposition such as this, that would enhance the amount of use of our rail network receives enables the expansion and improvement of the network and removes trucks off the road. Making our roads both safer and more efficient.

I object to the project for the following reasons -
The scope of the EIS is inadequate as the Hume Coal project significantly impacts the Berrima branch line and the Unanderra to Port Kembla line. Now the Tahmoor mine will operate into the future the extra traffic from Hume and will double the amount of coal train traffic on that line.
Whilst a grade separation is proposed for the old Hme Hwy, Suttor Rd in Moss Vale, Sheepwash Rd and Illawarra Hwy are completely ignored. These last two crossings in particular experience high volumes of traffic, whilst Suttor Road, is in the middle of a residential area full of young families. With the increase in heavy rail traffic these crossings will pose an unacceptable risk to public safety and rail staff.
Pedestrian traffic including school children and the elderly are seriously at risk in Moss Vale and Robertson as some pedestrian crossings and road crossings are in adequate or poorly fenced.
The rail line also runs approx 30 metres behind the 160 student Robertson primary school. As the children use the oval that is located beside the rail line. Coal dust and noise pose an unacceptable level of risk to the children and staff at the school.
I urge the Government to reject this proposal as it poses an unreasonable risk to public health and safety

This project must go ahead for the safe transportation of coal.

This project is critical to the development of Hume's coal project. It has low environmental impact and is also of economic benefit to the community.

I support the Berrima Rail Project because it is a vital, and necessary link in the Hume Coal Project and its operations. A railway line had servicing the area for many decades and therefore the base infrastructure is there for further development and upgrading to meet the freight needs of the Hume Coal Project.
This Rail Project further adds to the economic development of the region and will have minimal impact on the social fabric of the Southern Highlands.

I object to the Berrima Rail Project primarily because I object to the Hume Coal Project (see my already submitted objection to the same). In addition, I believe that the extra train movements will further disrupt an already busy rail network and will cause extra noise and coal dust pollution. I have never seen covers on the coal trucks on any line carrying coal (e.g. through the Blue Mountains, the Hunter etc) and think it unlikely that covers will succeed anyway, given my experience behind so-called covered semi-trailers on motorways, where I am often bombarded with debris, dust etc.

My concerns are consistent with those identified on the Battle For Berrima website, and repeated below.

This proposal has a very short lifespan in terms of both past and future human occupation in the southern highlands of NSW, and maximum effort should be taken to ensure that it does not proceed, especially because of the significant and disproportionate identified impacts during that short lifespan.

SUMMARY OF KEY ISSUES
THE BERRIMA RAIL PROJECT SSD7171
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The SCOPE of the EIS is inadequate as the Hume Coal Project significantly impacts the Berrima
branch line AND the Unanderra to Port Kembla Branch line. Now the Tahmoor mine will operate into
the future he extra traffic from Hume will double the amount of coal train traffic on the Unanderra line.
*
Whilst a GRADE SEPARATION is proposed for the Old Hume Highway, Suttor Road in Moss Vale,
Sheepwash Road and Illawarra Highway crossings are completely ignored. These last two crossings
experience high levels of traffic in morning, afternoons and weekends. Many of the road users are
tourists unfamiliar with the local area and rail level crossings. The Suttor Road crossing is used by both
Moss Vale local residents and industrial area traffic. With the increase in heavy rail traffic these
crossings pose an unacceptable risk to public safety and to rail staff.
*
PEDESTRIAN traffic including school children are seriously at risk in Moss Vale and Robertson.
Robertson in particular has a number pedestrian crossings and road crossing that are inadequate and
poorly fenced.
*
The rail line runs approx. 30 meters behind the 160 STUDENT Robertson Primary School. The children
play and spend time on the oval area that runs beside the rail line. Coal dust and noise pose an
unacceptable health risk to school children and School staff.
"There may be no safe threshold for fine
particulate matter and the effects are linearly related to concentration."
(World Health Organisation &
Australian National Pollution Inventory)
*
The Rail crossings on Douglas Road and Collins Road in the Moss Vale Enterprise Corridor will also
be compromised by the increased traffic. The Collins road crossing is especially dangerous and the
approach angle to the rail crossing close to or below the ARTC current safety standards.
*
The safety standards at the McCourt Road crossing also needs to be improved.
DELAYS AT RAIL CROSSINGS
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The EIS and DA lodged by Hume Coal in respect of the Berrima Rail Project shows that there will be
additional traffic delays at level crossings.
(ES3.3)
*
The rail route of the 4 daily coal trains from the Hume Coal mine and 4 back to the mine will involve
17 level crossings in the Southern Highlands and down the escarpment on the route to Port Kembla.
*
The addition of the Hume Coal trains will add an extra 24 minutes of closures at rail level crossings
each and every day
*
This will result in daily closures at rail crossings rising from 69 minutes every day to 93 minutes or
more than one and a half hours daily.
*
Major rail crossings to be impacted include those at Robertson and on Sheepwash Road
*
The nearly 30% increase in the total time rail crossings are closed each day as a result of the Hume
Coal proposal will present unacceptable impacts on emergency vehicles including fore brigades,
ambulances, police and other critical community services.
.