Inland Rail

In 1889, a proposed standard gauge and partly mixed gauge line from Brisbane via Rosewood, Warwick and Wallangarra shortened the distance between Brisbane and Sydney by 55 miles (89 km).[3]

In the 20th century, several proposals were made for an inland railway route connecting the east coast of Australia.[4] In 1915, Prime Minister Andrew Fisher proposed a "strategic railway" connecting the South Australian city of Port Augusta to Brisbane, with connections to the New South Wales railway network, at an estimated cost of A£6,500,000.[5] In 1979, TNT founder Ken Thomas proposed a route connecting Brisbane to Melbourne via Wallangarra, Orange and Albury, with possible connections to Adelaide and Perth.[6]

In 1995, Queensland Rail detailed a $1.289 billion (equivalent to $2.25 billion in 2018) proposal for an inland railway corridor connecting Brisbane and Melbourne.[7] New dual gauge track would follow the existing 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge Main Line to Toowoomba, the Western railway line to Wyreema and the Millmerran railway line to its terminus at Millmerran, with new track connecting to the Boggabilla railway line south of the New South Wales–Queensland border. The route would then have continued along the 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in) standard gauge Mungindi railway line until Bellata, with a new line connecting the Coonamble railway line via Wee Waa before once again following existing track: the Main Western railway line to Narromine; the Parkes–Narromine railway line to Parkes; the Stockinbingal–Parkes railway line to Stockinbingal; the Lake Cargelligo railway line to Cootamundra; the Main Southern railway line to Albury; and the North East railway line to Melbourne.[8] A maximum line speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) would be in place for the corridor, with an additional $189 million (equivalent to $329.52 million in 2018) upgrade to existing track allowing for speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph) in sections.[7]

In 1996, the Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics (BTCE) released a working paper assessing the proposal. It found a new route would save ten hours journey time on the existing coastal route via Sydney, reducing the operating cost for operators from $23.16/tonne to $17.56/tonne,[9] but would facilitate only a small increase in grain production.[10][11]

In September 2005, the federal Department of Transport and Regional Services commissioned a feasibility study into a Brisbane–Melbourne railway link, outlining four possible 'sub-corridors' between Junee and Brisbane.[12] In May 2008, the newly-elected Rudd Government allocated $15 million to the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to develop a route alignment following the Far Western sub-corridor as detailed in the 2006 study.[13][14] The Corporation's preliminary analysis was released in May 2009, which showed that the cheapest version of the inland railway would cost $2.8 billion to build and would allow freight to be moved from Melbourne to Brisbane in just over 27 hours. Despite this, the analysis also found that, if operational by 2020, the project's costs would outweigh any economic benefits by up to $1.1 billion.[15]

The ARTC's final report was released in July 2010. The report recommended a route from Junee to Melbourne via Albury following the North East railway line, with the route from Moree to Brisbane to built along a new corridor through the Toowoomba range.[16] The report forecast a delivery cost of $3.688 billion, with track duplication works between Junee and Melbourne and capacity for double-stacked freight trains between Melbourne and Parkes already budgeted by the ARTC.[17]

The Gillard Government announced forward estimates of $300 million in the 2011 federal budget commencing 2014, with the Coalition committing to the funding following the election of the Abbott Government in 2013.[18] A further $594 million was allocated to ARTC by the Turnbull Government in the 2016 federal budget to purchase land for the project,[19] with an additional $8.4 billion in funding over seven years announced in the subsequent 2017 budget.[20]

In the 2020 federal budget, the Morrison Government pledged $150 million in funding for additional grade separation works in New South Wales, conditional upon a further $37.5 million commitment from the New South Wales state government.[21]

Albury

Beveridge

Tottenham

Inland Rail project boundaries in Victoria

In Victoria, the Inland Rail route will follow the existing North East railway line and Albion–Jacana railway line alignment. Between Tottenham and Seymour the line is mostly single track with several crossing loops between 870 m (2,850 ft) and 6,800 m (22,300 ft) in length. The line north of Seymour is double track, with a connection to the Oaklands railway line at Benalla.[22]

Initial works on the corridor commenced in May 2020 as part of the $235 million North East Rail Line Upgrade,[23] with John Holland contracted to upgrade the track for line speeds up to 130 km/h (81 mph).[24][25] Additional works in the corridor include:

• Replacing or modifying 12 railway bridges between Beveridge and Albury.
• Building new track and relocating platform 2 at Wangaratta.[26]

Albury

Illabo

Stockinbingal

Parkes

Narromine

Narrabri

North Star

Yelarbon

Inland Rail project boundaries in New South Wales

From Albury, the route continues along the Main South railway line to Illabo. Initial consultations on this section of the route commenced in 2018, with upgrades planned to 185 km (115 mi) of track.[27] 37 km (23 mi) of new track is planned to be built between Illabo and Stockinbingal, connecting the Main South railway line to the Stockinbingal–Parkes railway line and bypassing Cootamundra and the Bethungra Spiral.[28]

The route continues along the line to Parkes, with upgrades planned to 173 km (107 mi) of track.[29] A further 98.4 km (61.1 mi) of track has been upgraded between Parkes and Narromine, in addition to the construction of a new 5.3 km (3.3 mi) connection with the Broken Hill railway line west of Parkes allowing services to connect to Adelaide and Perth.[30]

300 km (190 mi) of track between Narromine and Narrabri will be built along a new alignment, and is the longest stage of the project. A further 186 km (116 mi) of existing railway between Narrabri and North Star will be upgraded, with a bypass at Camurra to remove a long hairpin.[31]

Yelarbon

Acacia Ridge

Bromelton

Inland Rail project boundaries in Queensland

The sections of the route between the New South Wales—Queensland border and the termini at Bromelton and Acacia Ridge total 303 kilometres (188 mi) and will be built as dual gauge, improving services on both the interstate standard gauge and Queensland narrow gauge networks.

South-west of Yelarbon the Inland Rail route joins the alignment of the South Western railway line where it extends to south of Inglewood, with a new alignment connecting the now-closed Milmerran line north-east of Milmerran.[32] New track will be built between Southbrook and Gowrie Junction, with the route bypassing Toowoomba along an upgraded Western line as far east as Kagaru. The existing dual gauge North Coast line between Acacia Ridge and Bromelton will also be upgraded to allow for double-stacked freight containers.

In October 2018, INLink, a joint-venture between BMD Constructions and Fulton Hogan, was awarded a $310 million contract for stage 1 of the project between Parkes and Narromine.[33][34] Work on the Parkes–Narromine railway line and the new Broken Hill railway line connection commenced in December 2018.[35] More than 1,800 people were employed on the project, with works completed in September 2020.[36]

The Narrabri and Baradine Aboriginal Land Councils have stated their opposition to the Narromine to Narrabri section of the project, planned to be built on an alignment through the Pilliga forests which contain various Aboriginal heritage sites. A route through the Pilliga forests was announced by Minister for Infrastructure Darren Chester in November 2017, despite initial plans by the ARTC to build the line through surrounding farmland.[37][38]

Landholders and farmers have opposed several sections of the project on environmental grounds. In September 2017, Chester announced the Yelarbon to Gowrie section would be built through the Condamine River floodplain, which reached its highest recorded level in the 2010–11 Queensland floods.[32] The Inland Rail project was subsequently referred to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee in 2019,[39] with the committee chair Glenn Sterle critical of ARTC for a lack of consultation with communities along the alignment.[40] While the ARTC reaffirmed the Yelarbon to Gowrie route would remain across the floodplain,[41] in June 2020 Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack ordered a review into the alignment.[42]

In July 2020, the New South Wales branch of the Country Women's Association along with the NSW Farmers' Association commenced legal proceedings against ARTC, seeking an independent hydrology review into the Narromine to Narrabri stage of the project.[43]