Member for Mallee John Forrest has expressed his dismay at the possibility of rail freight returning to the Horsham central business district.
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Mr Forrest wrote to Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese asking for confirmation the Australian Rail Track Corporation had leased Horsham North's Mill Street rail freight terminal to Melbourne company Qube.
Horsham Rural City Council technical services manager John Martin said Qube had sought access to the $17.5-million project Wimmera Intermodal Freight Terminal at Dooen.
He said the business experienced difficulties and then sought access to the Mill Street site.
Mr Forrest urged Mr Albanese to suspend any negotiations for a Mill Street lease.
He said decommissioning the site would benefit the community.
"There is enormous and understandable angst, particularly among Horsham North residents,'' he said.
"The old Mill Street freight centre should be closed and decommissioned immediately.
"That is what the community wants, the council wants, government wants and I want.''
Mr Forrest said leasing the Mill Street site as a transport terminal would undermine the Dooen facility's potential.
He said it would cause great anxiety in the community.
"The Horsham community will not be bullied or intimidated, the old facility must be closed,'' he said.
Wimmera Container Line operated at the Mill Street site before moving to Dooen in September.
The business is the preferred operator at Dooen.
Mr Forrest said the business moved with the understanding that the Horsham site would be shut down.
"I'm not sure how, or why, this sorry situation has arisen,'' he said.
"The intention was to decommission Mill Street as part of Horsham's long-term planning.
''Horsham is a progressive regional city, so it worries me when something like Mill Street threatens to set the city back.''
QUBE corporate affairs director Paul White has confirmed the business intends to work at the Horsham terminal until it reaches a commercial agreement with Wimmera Container Line.
He said Qube worked to reach a commercial agreement with Wimmera Container Line and was disappointed the business had spoken to media about the negotiations.
