The Inland Rail field trip will include visits to farms in the Dubbo, Coonamble and Narromine areas and travel along the proposed route.

Inland Rail Taskforce chair Adrian Lyons said the tour coincides with NSW Farmers requesting further negotiations with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack on aspects of the Inland Rail project.

Following a commitment given to NSW Farmers, Mr McCormack attended a meeting in Gilgandra 10 days ago to hear the concerns of local farmers and communities.

“Members remain concerned about the proposed route and the operation of the inland rail,” Mr Lyons said. 

“Members are grateful that James Jackson is able to meet with them directly, listen to their concerns and represent their issues with the Government,” he said.

Mr Lyons said the $10 billion inland rail project is strongly supported by NSW Farmers, however members and impacted communities have deep concerns that need to be addressed prior to construction. 

“We will be discussing as range of issues, including potential impacts on farm business and the multi criteria analysis reports,” Mr Lyons said. 

NSW Farmers President James Jackson said Members are concerned that adequate justification for the greenfield sections of the inland rail has not yet been provided and that those planning and building the inland rail are not listening to local knowledge.

“I believe local knowledge is critical to the construction of major regional infrastructure projects,” Mr Jackson said.

“For example, farmers know about local flood prone areas and water flow. This type of knowledge needs to be listened to and acted upon,” he said.