Fact sheet: Sandgate Rail Expansion

 What and who? The Sandgate rail flyover is part of a "proposed investment program" which "aims to increase the capacity of the Hunter Valley network from 85 million tonnes of coal per year to over 100 million tonnes per year." The proponent of the development is the Australian Rail Track Corporation Ltd. (ARTC), a corporation wholly owned by the Commonwealth Government. The ARTC is also the consent authority for the development, thanks to the State Environmental Planning Policy (ARTC Rail Infrastructure) 2004. Impacts The plan as a whole anticipates providing for a 62% increase in the export tonnage of the port. Currently, Australia does not include greenhouse gas emissions from coal exports in our greenhouse accounting, but the greenhouse impacts of our exports dwarfs our domestic emissions. Australia