It is totally alarming to learn that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) concerning upgrading track works for the toy train at Belongil has been avoided by both Byron Shire Council and Transport NSW.
Debate has continued concerning the dire effect of diesel particles which travel large distances lodging in the lungs of living species and residing on vegetation. Twenty-eight countries in the EU have rejected the ongoing use of diesel technology,
Yes, it’s the 21st century and the north coast desperately deserves a train(s) for the most obvious of reasons, but does it deserve a toy train?
We were subjected to Puff Advertising when alerted to its arrival. Despite arriving as a dirty diesel technology we were told that after a period of time (maybe two years according to Elements) it would undergo a remarkable transformation; and finally present to the shire as a solar technology. The full make-over.
The reality is far more concerning. According to expert information by solar engineers, the train is much too heavy to convert to stand-alone solar/electric and would need a carriage full of lithium ion batteries to travel one way only down the 3km stretch of track. Puff advertising always reveals evidence after the fact.
To achieve safe tracks for the diesel train, the Belongil Estuary and waterways will be severely threatened with lethal poisons.
During the clean-up period ‘Roundup’ will be used to clear overgrown tracks. One in three sleepers will be replaced, no doubt disturbing the risk of releasing asbestos and arsenic contained in same and residing in sub soils.
Diana Jo Faith, Newtown
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