Spot, safety is not the main issue when it comes to road or rail. But you are 'Spot On' regarding an uproar if there were to be no road. A road is needed whether a railroad exists or not just as much as rail transport is needed for the chromite. Road only combined with chromite would also cause an uproar.
The main argument for the road is convenience of access. By that I mean when someone becomes sick or something is needed to be moved and time is of the essence a railroad is of little help.
The flip side of that is that rail is for cheapest bulk transportation.
One does not exclude the other. The question IS, which comes first?

<The chicken or the egg question?
Biologically we all know that eggs came well before there were any chickens, even amphibians ( yet we persist in asking the question).>
The answer to the road or rail is similar. The road needs to go in first because it provides access to services that rail is unable or at the very least in a timely manner. Should rail be provided first by what ever logic, branch roads would be needed to finally deliver goods to the communities. So roads by any form can not be avoided.

And we all know the costs of rail and chromite, so sooner or lated rail has to exist. End of that story.

So it is not one or the other But which First and How.

Railroad is fairly expensive so I do not see either or both of the governments alone funding it. This funding needs big private support. As often stated here, chinese companies may be the answer for which we are likely to pay for with future ore deliveries.

As for road, while private funding could do it, private road has little chance of flying. The communities along it may be against it and thus thwart it. NO, Ontario has that responsibility and I see little hope of them avoiding it. Of course they are delaying that 'pain' not realizing enough that it is an investment for the future and the costs involved would come back over time.
Did I say politicians are short sighted? Limited sight only to the next ellection. Lol, I thought I did along with others here ( too much repetition for us but way too little for Toronto and Ottawa, who seem to be hard at hearing the mantra.

In the hope that eventually persistence pays off, Ed.