AN ADVOCACY group is calling for state candidates to make the Logan section of the Inland Rail line a critical election issue.
Forestdale residents Stan and Suz Corbett from the Inland Rail Action Group want stopped the diversion of freight trains from Kagaru, near Cedar Grove, to Acacia Ridge.
The section is part of the 1700-kilometre inland rail line from Melbourne to Brisbane, expected to be operating by 2024-25.
One of their concerns is the health impact of transporting coal through residential areas as well as noise and smell.
“This issue is a deal breaker for people wanting to live here,” Mr Corbett said.
“If people think they will not be affected by the trains, they are living in a fool’s paradise.”
Mrs Corbett said the freight trains were being inflicted on people.
She said to minimise impacts nearby residents might need to double-glaze windows and run air-conditioning constantly.
“Who will pay for these measures?”
Australian Rail Track Corporation told a community meeting in September that some trains travelling on the line would be 1.8 kilometres long and carry double-stacked containers.
An ARTC representative said the network could grow after 2040 to include 3.6 kilometre trains.
Mrs Corbett said the impact of black lung disease from coal dust exposure had been documented.
“Many of us in this area use tank water,” she said.
“Coal dust from trains could cause a lot of health issues for us by getting into our water.”
The group wants freight to be taken to the Gladstone port rather than the Brisbane port.
Councillor Laurie Smith told the Jimboomba Times previously there would be about 45 trains on the line each day, including freight and coal.
Mr Corbett said already they could not hear their television when a train went past. “They disturb us in our sleep too,” he said.
Mr and Mrs Corbett said Flagstone residents had concerns about the impact of trains in that suburb.
The group’s Stop ARTC Freight Line petition has more than 500 signatures.
