All Removed 2nd Hand Wooden Sleepers Sold
www.tas.greens.org.au
The Tasmanian Greens today revealed that all the 2nd hand wooden railway sleepers that were removed from the Tasmanian railway network had been sold to a landscape supplies business without any being reserved for tourism railways that are in desperate need of sleepers.
Greens Infrastructure spokesperson Tim Morris MP today called on the Minister for Tourism to explain whether she was consulted about reserving some of the re-useable sleepers for reuse in railway lines such as Redwater Creek, Ida Bay and Derwent Valley Lines to support existing tourism railway operators who all need sleepers.
“I have repeatedly requested that the Infrastructure Minister, Graeme Sturges, negotiate with the tourism rail operators, such as Redwater Creek, Ida Bay and Derwent Valley Lines, to provide them first option to access second-hand wooden rail sleepers as they are removed from the railway network, yet the Minister has turned a deaf ear to these pleas,” Mr Morris said.
“There are other issues and concerns that have come about because of the sale of these industrial sleepers, including ensuring that the up to 50,000 sleepers that are re-useable are not sold to people who might use them in domestic situations where children may come in contact with them.”
“It is also important to ensure that any broken sleepers do not end as firewood and burnt and reassurances need to be given that this will not be permitted, due to potential health risks from industrial chemical exposure.”
“The Department of Infrastructure has disclosed on their website that a contract has been let for the disposal of the sleepers and that it has paid $968,000 to have the broken ones disposed of, and presumably the whole ones must be removed and then can be resold where there will be no control over what happens with them.”
“I am particularly concerned that the Minister for Infrastructure, Mr Sturges does not sufficiently care about supporting the tourism rail sector that he has not kept aside wooden sleepers that could be safely reused, which would help enormously these rail operators keep operating.”
“The Minister has also not given any undertaking either that the removed older style steel sleepers will be made available for railway lines that have the right gauge and could make very good use of them,” Mr Morris said.
Tim Morris MP Greens Infrastructure spokesperson
