Western Plains shires have told a panel on NSW freight reform they want greater assurances on when the Inland Rail project will be complete.

The NSW government announced the Freight Policy Reform Program in January 2024 to advise on policy around rail and road networks, major NSW ports and the role of the state and federal governments in major changes to freighting.

Narromine, Bogan, Gilgandra, Warrumbungle and Walgett shires counted among 120 submissions to the program panel, published this month.

In their submissions, Narromine and Warrumbungle said that local producers need certainty around when their section will be completed.

"At some stage, we need to be certain that the development will continue north of Narromine and continue on up to Brisbane."

"Our expectation and understanding from the federal government is that will occur, that the project will start happening in late 2027 or 2028. Now, that's very comforting as long as that is the case and that the issues surrounding some of the track, particularly in Queensland, can be resolved."

Wurrumbungle Shires submission echoed the sentiment.

"Producers need assurance that this project will be completed quickly, to confidently invest in on-farm storage and plan for expanded intermodal operations over the next decade," the submission said.

The project has received state and federal environmental approvals for the Narromine to Narrabri (N2N) section and is in the process of land acquisitions from landholders.

However, it hasn't obtained environmental approvals from the Queensland government.

A February meeting of the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee also revealed the Federal Government has not allocated further funding for the N2N section.

Gilgandra is one of the shires Inland Rail will pass through.

In their submissions, Western Plains shires also flagged improving connections to ports.

For example, Gilgandra said that Newcastle Port could offer more economic benefit to the region if restrictions on containers were relaxed.

"The current policy that restricts the Port of Newcastle from being considered a container terminal until NSW Ports reach capacity creates significant operational challenges for regions like Gilgandra," the submission said.

"It restricts the broader economic and logistical benefits that could be realised by utilising Newcastle as a container port, which would help alleviate congestion in Sydney and Port Botany.

"For Gilgandra, this change would mean reduced freight costs, improved efficiency, and enhanced competitiveness for our agricultural and broader industries."

The freight reform panel is headed by Dr Kerry Schott, Lucio Di Bartolomeo and Dr Hermione Parsons.

Submissions were in response to a consultation paper released in April, which asked stakeholders to consider whether the current freight system is fit for purpose as well as how they see Inland Rail changing their operations.