Survey: Impact of the Inland Rail Project on the community and businesses in Wagga Wagga

 Background

 Inland Rail is a 1,600km freight rail line that will connect Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Comprising 12 sections, Inland Rail involves upgrades or enhancement works to approximately 1,000km of existing track and construction of 600km of new track passing through regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

The Albury to Illabo section of Inland Rail includes enhancements along approximately 185km of existing rail corridor from the Victoria-NSW border to Illabo in regional NSW. Whilst the existing rail line will be used, enhancements and modifications need to be made to provide sufficient height and width to support the safe running of double-stacked freight trains.

 The Albury to Illabo project is now in the ‘detailed design, early works and construction’ stage.

I have tabled a petition in parliament, calling for critical measures to mitigate the impact of Inland Rail on the city. More than 650 people signed the petition, reflecting growing community concerns about the impact of the project, during both the construction and operational phases. You can read more about this here. 

From April – September 2025, there will be temporary traffic management and parking disruptions along Donnelly Avenue, Little Best, Erin, Railway and Macleay Streets.

The key construction traffic impact in Wagga Wagga is the construction of the replacement Edmondson Street bridge, which would take approximately 18 months to complete. The existing bridge would be closed during these works, and motorists diverted to other rail corridor crossings including Docker Street and Lake Albert Road.

It is anticipated there will be traffic delays along Bourke Street / Docker Street, Lake Albert Road and the Sturt Highway.

Three bridges will be impacted over the duration of Construction: Cassidy Parade Pedestrian bridge, Edmondson Street bridge, and the Wagga Wagga station pedestrian bridge. These bridge closures will impact pedestrians and cyclists.

Complete the survey below or visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/inlandrailwagga

Dr Joe McGirr would like to know how construction of the Inland Rail project—specifically, the Albury to Illabo section—will impact you and how you travel around Wagga Wagga.

Your feedback will help us advocate for better traffic management solutions.

Survey closes 4 August 2025.