Inland Railway
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Inland Rail, also known as Inland Railway and previously Australian Inland Railway Expressway, is a railway line under construction in Australia. Once complete, it will connect the ports of Melbourne and
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
along a new route west of the mountainous Great Dividing Range, bypassing the busy Sydney metropolitan area and allowing for the use of double-stacked freight trains. The route will also connect to the Sydney–Perth rail corridor, reducing journey times between Brisbane,
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
and
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
. Construction of the line is divided into 13 projects, with of new track to be built and of existing track to be upgraded.


History


Early proposals

In 1889, a proposed standard gauge and partly mixed gauge line from Brisbane via Rosewood, Warwick and
Wallangarra Wallangarra is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia on the border with New South Wales. In the , the locality of Wallangarra had a population of 468 people. It is the third-most southerly town in Queens ...
shortened the distance between Brisbane and Sydney by . In the 20th century, several proposals were made for an inland railway route connecting the east coast of Australia. In 1915,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Andrew Fisher Andrew Fisher (29 August 186222 October 1928) was an Australian politician who served three terms as prime minister of Australia – from 1908 to 1909, from 1910 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1915. He was the leader of the Australian Labor Party ...
proposed a "strategic railway" connecting the
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
n city of Port Augusta to
Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
, with connections to the
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
railway network, at an estimated cost of
The pound (Sign: £, £A for distinction) was the currency of Australia from 1910 until 14 February 1966, when it was replaced by the Australian dollar. As with other £sd currencies, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (denoted by the symbol s ...
6,500,000. In 1979,
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
founder Ken Thomas proposed a route connecting Brisbane to
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
via
Wallangarra Wallangarra is a rural town and locality in the Southern Downs Region, Queensland, Australia on the border with New South Wales. In the , the locality of Wallangarra had a population of 468 people. It is the third-most southerly town in Queens ...
,
Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...
and
Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...
, with possible connections to
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
and
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
.


Later proposals

In 1995,
Queensland Rail Queensland Rail (QR) is a railway operator in Queensland, Australia. Owned by the Queensland Government, it operates local and long-distance passenger services, as well as owning and maintaining approximately 6,600 kilometres of track and relate ...
detailed a $1.289 billion (equivalent to $ billion in ) proposal for an inland railway corridor connecting Brisbane and Melbourne. New dual gauge track would follow the existing
narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
Main Line to , 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 The Boggabilla railway line is a disused railway line in New South Wales, Australia. It branches from the Mungindi railway line at Camurra and ran for 130 kilometres to Boggabilla. Construction When the line was first approved, few could have ...
south of the New South Wales–Queensland border. The route would then have continued along the
Mungindi railway line The Mungindi railway line is a railway line in northern New South Wales, Australia. It branches from the Main North line at Werris Creek station and heads north-west through the towns of Gunnedah and Narrabri before reaching Moree which for ...
until Bellata, with a new line connecting the Coonamble railway line via
Wee Waa Wee Waa () is a town located on the north-western slopes of the New England region in New South Wales, Australia. The town is within the Narrabri Shire local government area and is on the Namoi River. Wee Waa is north-west of Narrabri and n ...
before once again following existing track: the
Main Western railway line The Main Western Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Blue Mountains, Central West, North West Slopes and the Far West regions. It is with operational & under construction & repairs. Description o ...
to ; the Parkes–Narromine railway line to ; the Stockinbingal–Parkes railway line to ; the
Lake Cargelligo railway line The Lake Cargelligo railway line is a railway line in Central Western New South Wales, Australia. The first sod was turned commencing construction on 8 June 1913 with the line opening on 13 November 1917. The line branches from the Main South li ...
to ; the
Main Southern railway line The Main Southern Railway is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs from Sydney to Albury, near the Victorian border. The line passes through the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, South West Slopes and Riverina regions. ...
to ; and the
North East railway line The North East railway line is a railway line in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The line runs from Albury railway station in the border settlement of Albury–Wodonga to Southern Cross railway station on the western edge of the Mel ...
to Melbourne. A maximum line speed of would be in place for the corridor, with an additional $189 million (equivalent to $ million in ) upgrade to existing track allowing for speeds of up to in sections. In 1996, the Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics (BTCE) released a
working paper A working paper or work paper may be: *A working paper or technical paper. Often, authors will release working papers to share ideas about a topic or to elicit feedback before submitting to a peer reviewed conference or academic journal. Worki ...
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, but would facilitate only a small increase in grain production. In September 2005, the federal
Department of Transport and Regional Services The Department of Transport and Regional Services (DOTARS) was an Australian government department that existed between October 1998 and December 2007. Scope Information about the department's functions and/or government funding allocation coul ...
commissioned a
feasibility study A feasibility study is an assessment of the practicality of a project or system. A feasibility study aims to objectively and rationally uncover the strengths and weaknesses of an existing business or proposed venture, opportunities and threats pr ...
into a Brisbane–Melbourne railway link, outlining four possible 'sub-corridors' between and Brisbane. In May 2008, the newly-elected
Rudd Government Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) Rudd Government may refer to the following Australian governments: * Rudd government (2007–10) * Rudd government (2013) {{Dab ... * Rudd gov ...
allocated $15 million to the
Australian Rail Track Corporation The Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) is an Australian Government-owned statutory corporation. It operates one of the largest rail networks in the nation spanning 8,500km across five states, 39 worksites and more than 50 First Nations. ...
(ARTC) to develop a route alignment following the Far Western sub-corridor as detailed in the 2006 study. 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. The ARTC's final report was released in July 2010. The report recommended a route from Junee to Melbourne via following the North East railway line, with the route from to Brisbane to built along a new corridor through the Toowoomba range. The report forecast a delivery cost of $3.688 billion, with
track duplication A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...
works between Junee and Melbourne and capacity for double-stacked freight trains between Melbourne and Parkes already budgeted by the ARTC.


Approval and funding

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. A further $594 million was allocated to ARTC by the Turnbull Government in the 2016 federal budget to purchase land for the project, with an additional $8.4 billion in funding over seven years announced in the subsequent 2017 budget. In the 2020 federal budget, the
Morrison Government The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...
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.


Route

The proposed route will connect the
rail yard A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock or u ...
at
Tottenham, Victoria Tottenham is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Maribyrnong local government area. Tottenham recorded no population at the . It is bounded by Sunshine Road ...
with the freight yards at
Acacia Ridge Acacia Ridge is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Acacia Ridge had a population of 7,429 people. Geography Acacia Ridge is south of the central business district. It is within the local government are ...
and Bromelton, using a combination of new and existing standard gauge and dual gauge track. Upgrades to existing track will facilitate the use of double-stacked container trains between the three yards.


Victoria

In Victoria, the Inland Rail route will follow the existing North East railway line and
Albion–Jacana railway line The Albion–Jacana line is a railway line in the western suburbs of Melbourne, Australia. Linking Albion on the Sunbury line to Jacana on the Craigieburn line, it is primarily used by freight trains and has no overhead wires, passenger sta ...
alignment. Between Tottenham and the line is mostly single track with several crossing loops between and in length. The line north of Seymour is double track, with a connection to the Oaklands railway line at . Initial works on the corridor commenced in May 2020 as part of the $235 million North East Rail Line Upgrade, with John Holland contracted to upgrade the track for line speeds up to . Additional works in the corridor include: * Replacing or modifying 12 railway bridges between Beveridge and Albury. * Building new track and relocating platform 2 at .


New South Wales

From Albury, the route continues along the Main South railway line to
Illabo Illabo (pron. ILL a boh) is a locality in the South West Slopes part of the Riverina in New South Wales, Australia. It is situated about southwest of Bethungra and northeast of Junee. At the 2016 census, Illabo had a population of 144. Hi ...
. Initial consultations on this section of the route commenced in 2018, with upgrades planned to of track. 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 The Bethungra Spiral is a heritage-listed rail spiral near Bethungra, between Junee and Cootamundra, carrying the northbound track of the Melbourne → Sydney railway line. It is a listed heritage item, having been added to the New South Wal ...
. The route continues along the line to Parkes, with upgrades planned to of track. A further of track has been upgraded between Parkes and Narromine, in addition to the construction of a new connection with the
Broken Hill railway line The Broken Hill railway line is now part of the transcontinental railway from Sydney to Perth. New South Wales's first line opened from Sydney to Parramatta Junction (near Granville Station) in 1855 and was extended as the Main Western line in ...
west of Parkes allowing services to connect to
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
and
Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
. Replace or modify nn overbridges between Albury and Junee. of track between Narromine and
Narrabri Narrabri ( ) is a locality and seat of Narrabri Shire local government area in the North West Slopes, New South Wales, Australia on the Namoi River, northwest of Sydney. It sits on the junction of the Kamilaroi Highway and the Newell Highw ...
will be built along a new alignment, and is the longest stage of the project. A further of existing railway between Narrabri and
North Star Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude tha ...
will be upgraded, with a bypass at to remove a long hairpin.


Queensland

The sections of the route between the New South Wales—Queensland border and the termini at Bromelton and Acacia Ridge total and will be built as dual gauge, improving services on both the interstate standard gauge and
Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...
narrow gauge networks. South-west of
Yelarbon Yelarbon is a rural town and locality in the Goondiwindi Region, Queensland, Australia. It is on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. In the , Yelarbon had a population of 364 people. Geography Yelarbon is in south-central Queensland on ...
, 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 Millmerran line north-east of Millmerran. New track will be built between Southbrook and
Gowrie Junction Gowrie Junction is a rural locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. It is north-west of Toowoomba. In the , Gowrie Junction had a population of 2,030 people. The town of Gowrie is in the eastern part of the locality (). Geograp ...
, with the route bypassing
Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...
to Helidon on a new line and then along an upgraded Western line as far east as Calvert and new line 53km to Kagaru. The existing dual gauge North Coast line of NSW between Acacia Ridge and Bromelton will also be upgraded to allow for double-stacked freight containers.


Tunnels

There are three tunnels in Queensland, which allow for
double-stack rail transport Double-stack rail transport is a form of intermodal freight transport in which railroad cars carry two layers of intermodal containers. Invented in the United States in 1984, it is now being used for nearly seventy percent of United States inter ...
and dual gauge and
single-track railway A single-track railway is a railway where trains traveling in both directions share the same track. Single track is usually found on lesser-used rail lines, often branch lines, where the level of traffic is not high enough to justify the co ...
. These are: * Teviot Range Tunnel Inland Railway 1100m * Little Liverpool Range Tunnel Inland Railway 850m * Toowoomba Range Tunnel Inland Railway 6000m These tunnels replace the original narrow gauge only tunnels between Grandchester and
Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...
with a faster and more maintainable alignment.


Construction


Chronology

In October 2018, INLink, a
joint-venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...
between BMD Constructions and
Fulton Hogan Fulton Hogan is a large infrastructure construction, roadworks and aggregate supplier company in New Zealand, which is also active in wider Australasia. The company was founded by Julius Fulton and Robert Hogan in Dunedin in 1933. In 2013 the c ...
, was awarded a $310 million contract for stage 1 of the project between Parkes and Narromine. Work on the Parkes–Narromine railway line and the new Broken Hill railway line connection commenced in December 2018. More than 1,800 people were employed on the project, with works completed in September 2020.


Opposition to construction

The Narrabri and Baradine
Aboriginal Land Councils Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...
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 Darren Jeffrey Chester (born 13 September 1967) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives for Gippsland in Victoria, representing the Nationals since 2008. Chester had served as the Minister for Veterans ...
, in November 2017, despite initial plans by the ARTC to build the line through surrounding farmland. 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 The Condamine River, part of the Balonne River, Balonne catchment that is part of the Murray-Darling Basin, drains the northern portion of the Darling Downs, an area of sub-coastal southern Queensland, Australia. The river is approximately 500 k ...
floodplain, which reached its highest recorded level in the
2010–11 Queensland floods 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
. As a consequence, the Inland Rail project was referred to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee in 2019, with the committee chair, Senator
Glenn Sterle Glenn Sterle (born 3 January 1960) is an Australian politician. A former trade union organiser, he has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate since 2005, representing the state of Western Australia. Career Trucking bus ...
, critical of ARTC for a lack of consultation with communities along the alignment. Although the ARTC reaffirmed the Yelarbon to Gowrie route would remain across the floodplain, in June 2020,
Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...
, Michael McCormack, ordered a review of the alignment. In July 2020, the New South Wales branch of the
Country Women's Association The Country Women's Association (CWA) is the largest regional and rural advocacy group in Australia. It comprises seven independent State and Territory Associations, who are passionate advocates for country women and their families, working ...
, along with the NSW Farmers' Association, commenced legal proceedings against ARTC, seeking an independent
hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...
review into the Narromine to Narrabri stage of the project.


See also

* Adelaide–Darwin rail corridor, a similar north-south rail corridor connecting inland Australia *
Rail transport in Australia Rail transport in Australia is a component of the Australian transport system. It is to a large extent state-based, as each state largely has its own operations, with the interstate network being developed ever since Australia's federation i ...
* ATMS will be fitted to those sections not fitted with regular signalling such as CTC. * Railway tunnels in Queensland, Australia * Main range tunnels


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


Submissions to Senate Inquiry into Inland Rail
{{Railway lines in Queensland , state=expanded Interstate rail in Australia Proposed railway lines in Australia Rail transport in New South Wales Rail transport in Queensland Rail transport in Victoria (Australia) 2026 in rail transport