“Put simply, they have not listened to a single thing the community has said,” a Glenrowan improvers member, who asked not to be named, said.
“They are just going to go ahead and do what they want.
“We were told (consultations) were a way of getting the best outcome for Glenrowan.
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“(And) this is a wonderful opportunity for the town, if they do it the right way.”
The community member said the dialogue started off well and all involved were positive about the potential outcome.
“When we first spoke to them they had so many public meetings,” the group member said.
“They would tell us ‘we get your point, and we will come back to you'.
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“But each time they visited they sent different people.
“Nothing the community suggested had been considered and now they are saying they will do what they want.
“They made out like they were listening to us. They would come in and agree with us and say they would look into what we had suggested.
“The next time they would send someone else down who knew nothing about what we had said.
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“This is going to be a big disruption to our town and we should be getting something back.”
ARTC General Manager Victoria Projects Ed walker said there was still time for the Glenrowan community to have their say in the project.
“ARTC’s locally based stakeholder engagement team continue to make themselves available to provide up-to-date information on the project – they remain the primary contact for any questions the Glenrowan Improvers may have and are a direct and dedicated point of contact,” Mr Walker said.
“In order to introduce new members of the team, including one based in Benalla, ARTC organised a meeting with the Improvers in July 2020, which was designed specifically to provide contact details and establish a direct line of communication.
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“This follows previous engagements where technical experts were brought to meetings to add perspective and provide in-depth responses to technical questions about the project, including members of the project team, engineers, and the environmental and heritage team.
“We remain committed to providing access to a range of our team including different specialists and experts to help answer community questions.
“These technical experts include the engineering and design team who have consistently worked on the project for the past few years.
“We respect the passion the Glenrowan Improvers have for their community, and their advocacy for improving the town, and we value the group’s local knowledge, experience and feedback on the project.
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“In our engagement with the Glenrowan Improvers, we have discussed design options for Glenrowan.
“In the early stages of this project, the original design included a track lowering under the Beaconsfield Bridge.
“From stakeholder feedback and technical investigations, the early designs were changed to a bridge replacement.
“Members from our project team attended a meeting with the Improvers in August 2019 to present this new design.
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“A two-way flow of information happening between all parties will get the best result for the Glenrowan community.
“We recognise there are concerns out there, and our stakeholder engagement team is listening and will arrange for the experts to speak to locals about those and work through the concerns.
Mr Walker said the stakeholder engagement team could be contacted by phoning 1800 732 761 or by email at inlandrailvic@artc.com.au
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