Intermodal: noise mitigation bill could top $300m, say residents

South west Sydney residents opposed to the proposed giant intermodal terminal at Moorebank say that the cost of noise mitigation could be more than $300 million.

And that’s just for the 13,372 homes and units which are estimated to be located within a two kilometre radius of the intermodal.

John Anderson, chairman of RAID [Residents Against Intermodal Development] and a Wattle Grove resident, says there are homes which are as close as 260 metres to the site of the intermodal.

“I don’t know if the proponents of the intermodal appreciate that if they get the green light residents within the two kilometre radius would require noise mitigation work to their homes,’’ Mr Anderson said.

The 13,372 homes and units within the two kilometre radius are in suburbs such as Wattle Grove, Casula, Glenfield, Moorebank and Holsworthy.

Mr Anderson said the average cost to double glaze a home would be around $16,000.

“A lot of homes are not built to mitigate industrial noise like an intermodal terminal, with freight trains and trucks coming and going 24 hours a day,’’ Mr Anderson said.

Which means that if the intermodal was approved, the homes within the two kilometre radius would also require insulation, bringing the cost to $25,000 per home.

“This is an estimate only of course, but if that was the case, the companies behind the intermodal could be up for a noise mitigation bill of more than $300 million,’’ he said.

“We are looking at a lot of noise from 10,000 truck movements a day, freight trains bringing the containers to Moorebank, the shunting, cranes, and all of that 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“The message we have for MIC and SIMTA [Moorebank Intermodal Company and Sydney Intermodal Terminal Alliance ] is that the noise mitigation may cost you millions.’’