Council abandons road train safety restrictions amid criticism from farmers

Isaac council abandons plans to restrict road trains following farmers' criticism Tue 7 Jul 2026 at 10:05am In short: Isaac Regional Council is reviewing five intersections used by farmers, freight operators and the mining industry. It comes after internal safety assessments identified concerns about whether longer heavy vehicles have enough room to safely stop between nearby rail crossings and intersections. What's next? Council has commissioned an independent consultant to assess the five intersections before making any decision. A North Queensland council has abandoned plans to restrict road trains from using five key freight routes after criticism from farmers opposed to the changes. The Isaac Regional Council has assessed more than 60 per cent of the roads it manages using mapping from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR), identifying several routes used by B-double trucks and road trains that do not meet current safety requirements. But farmers in the region, west of Mackay, say the changes proposed by the council in March would have added hours to their grain deliveries and increased costs. The council has now commissioned an independent assessment of the intersections before deciding what needs to be done. Long trucks, short harvest Bradley Mifsud grows grain near Mount McLaren, north of Clermont, and sits on the board of farm lobby group, AgForce. He said issues around truck length on routes growers relied on during the wheat, chickpea and soybean harvest were particularly concerning. "Our main concern is they were going to simply shorten the combination length allowed, and that's not workable," he said. "In this volatile climate, we need to be able to cart as much grain as we legally can. "To lessen that is a real kick in the guts." In Queensland, road trains are generally considered to be trucks towing at least two trailers, with maximum lengths between 31.5 metres and 36.5m for Type 1 vehicles, and between 44m and 53.5m for Type 2. The assessment found longer configurations did not have enough room to safely stop between some rail crossings and nearby intersections, known as stacking distance. Mr Mifsud said if larger trucks had to redirect around the intersections to cart grain to storage sites, it would mean either longer trips or more trucks and drivers, which were currently in short supply, would be needed. "We've got some growers that this could add an extra two to 2.5 hours to their round trip," he said. "There's not the skilled labour; there's not the transport available, and there's certainly not the money in the industry to handle that." From farms all over the district, the grain is delivered to a receival site like the one across the road from the intersection of Russell Park Road and Ken Logan Road at Mount McLaren, one of 150 operated by GrainCorp. In a statement, a spokesperson said maintaining access for 53.5-metre road trains was critical to efficient harvest operations and the competitiveness of the region's industry. They said the company had been advocating to maintain the current access arrangements ahead of harvest in September. No decision made Council's director of infrastructure services Jason Devitt said affected road users would be engaged with before changes were made. "Is there something simple we can do to make it safer, or are more significant infrastructure upgrades required?" he said. "We're looking at all the options and considering those before we make any changes." The council is expected to hold further community meetings in September. Safety concerns driving review The council's assessment was possible due to a network mapping system introduced by the NHVR, the statutory body responsible for access permits, national standards and compliance for vehicles weighing more than 4.5 tonnes. The map is part of a national push to replace current individual permits with a National Automated Access System, which provides freight operators with real-time access decisions based on road-by-road route planning. NHVR director of service delivery Steven Miller said there were 470 state and local government road managers across the country constantly reviewing the safety of their roads. "Our role is to take those decisions from the road managers, make sure all the instruments are updated and also assist with communication to the industry," he said. "Where rail crossings intersect with the heavy vehicle network is a high-risk area, with the potential for significant infrastructure damage and severe injuries or fatalities. "That's why we take this stuff seriously." A spokesperson for Queensland's Acting Transport Minister Sam O'Connor said there had been no changes to heavy vehicle access on state-controlled roads in the Isaac region. "Any changes to access on local roads is a matter for local governments," the spokesperson said. Mr Mifsud hopes the independent review is an opportunity to improve safety without compromising productivity. "We feel there are some other really serious hazards and issues on the roads in our community," he said. "To throw money at this particular intersection [Russell Park Road and Ken Logan Road] and cause so much economic pain and stress-related issues, we just don't feel that it's right."