Australian Rail Track Corporation’s Inland Rail team have officially confirmed that two new mobile base stations along the proposed route between Narromine and Narrabri have been officially switched on.

“The two towers - along the Box Ridge Road near Mount Tenandra and at Kickabil, forty kilometres north of Narromine - came online as of 14 August 2023,” a spokesperson for ARTC told the Western Plains App.

“The new mobile base stations, erected and managed by Telstra, will enhance voice and data communications for trains on the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) network but have also been augmented to improve local community coverage.”

Surrounding residents and travellers through the area can expect a much improved mobile service.

According to official Telstra sources the sites are needed to “meet increased demand on the network, accommodate growth in our customer base, improve and maintain local network services including voice calling, SMS, live video calling, video-based content services and internet browsing” as well as “provide coverage and service to the Inland Rail.

Inland Rail is now working on delivering an additional mobile base station at Black Hollow, with land access for this site secured and design now underway.

A further mobile base station is planned at an unnamed site in the Pilliga Forest and is currently in the approvals and land acquisition stage.

However that station is not planned to provide a service to the community but will be designed for “train voice and comms”.

“All the new and upgraded infrastructure being rolled out is being fitted with 5G capable antennae, meaning that local homes and businesses will be able to receive 5G services without additional network upgrades being required in the future,” an ARTC spokesperson said.

“The work, which is funded by Inland Rail, will form part of the legacy the Inland Rail project will leave with communities along the alignment to benefit from the improvements for years to come.”