THE RAIL line between West Tamworth to Westdale will be reinstated by the end of the year according to Member for Tamworth Kevin Anderson.
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The freight terminal is a piece of a much bigger intermodal rail hub which will link the Taminda industrial estate with Sydney's Port Botany.
The reinstatement of the $35 million Barrabra branch line along Wallamore Road is the first step to turn Tamworth into a major transport industry player.
Mr Anderson made the announcement alongside NSW Minister for Regional Roads Paul Toole and Tamworth Regional Council mayor Col Murray on Wednesday morning, with the backdrop of beams for level crossings being installed.
That installation marks a large milestone for the project which began construction in May last year, but was originally touted to be completed by late 2018.
Significant planning issues have plagued the operation, but Cr Murray is confident the struggle will have been worth it once it is actually in use.
"This project is very important for our regional economy, we've got some of the best and some of the most productive producers in the land here in the New England North West," he said.
"We've got the largest food processing cluster in Australia right here in our industrial area, but what we didn't have was access to ports for those very productive businesses.
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"And this investment into the railway line enables business to do what it does best, that allows them to be productive and be competitive on the world stage."
Mr Toole expects to project to be crucial given the expectation freight demand in regional NSW will rise by 12 per cent to 286 million tonnes in the next 16 years.
After first investing money in November 2017, Mr Anderson said the state government was thrilled to finally see work in progress, with the politician even grabbing a shifter and getting to work himself.
"What an exciting day, this is a project that has been in the making for a long time," he said.
"It's about getting freight rail back into Tamworth, it's about investment in jobs, it's about looking at what we've got to do to get freight rail back into the New England - North West."
Qube will operate the freight hub once it is complete.
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