Inland Rail is poised to transform Australia’s freight and logistics landscape, connecting existing freight routes through rail, roads and ports, and supporting Australia’s growth.
Inland Rail is a 1,600km freight rail line that will connect Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Recognised as Critical State Significant Infrastructure by the New South Wales Government, this ambitious project promises to help Australia keep pace with the increasing freight demands of a growing population.
Inland Rail CEO, Nick Miller, said, “This is a critical nation building project, and one of the things that most attracted me to Inland Rail is that it is being delivered across regional areas of Australia.
“In my previous roles I have been fortunate enough to work extensively in regional and rural Australia, and I know how important sustainable, well-delivered infrastructure programs are in these areas and for these communities.”
The track will enable double-stacked trains to run from Beveridge, north of Melbourne, to a proposed intermodal terminal at Ebenezer, west of Brisbane; with single-stacked trains able to pass through Ebenezer to Kagaru to connect with the existing Sydney to Brisbane coastal line.
Inland Rail will better link businesses, manufacturers and producers to national and global markets, generating opportunities for industries and regions during construction and beyond.
At present, around four billion tonnes of freight is moved across Australia every year, representing around 163 tonnes of freight for every person, and total domestic freight volumes are expected to grow by more than 20 per cent between 2018 and 2040.
With 1,800m long doubled-stacked trains travelling at speeds of up to 115km/h, each train using Inland Rail is designed to carry the equivalent freight volume of 110 B-double trucks, reducing congestion and creating capacity for the Australia’s major east coast highways and regional roads.
Inland Rail is expected to cut rail freight travel time between Melbourne and Brisbane by almost a third, from 33 hours to less than 24 hours, making it competitive with road, and will reduce congestion by taking tens of thousands of trucks off the nation’s roads each year when complete.
Long-term benefits
Australia’s population is forecast to reach between 37 and 49 million people over the next 40 years. Inland Rail will help keep up with the increasing freight demands of a growing population, delivering competitive pricing and reliability for freight customers compared with road freight.
Two thirds of the freight that will be carried on Inland Rail will be for domestic use – including food, white goods, medical supplies and industrial equipment.
Inland Rail will enable faster, safer, more resilient delivery of freight and reduce supply chain costs – moving freight by rail is 16 times more fuel-efficient than moving freight by road.
In addition, regional communities will benefit from reduced local road congestion, fewer emissions and reduced noise from large trucks passing through local towns.
When fully operational, Inland Rail will also improve resilience, providing an additional freight route to the Brisbane to Sydney coastal line which traverses through Sydney.
Inland Rail is already improving freight connections with Adelaide and Perth via the now-operational North-West Connection at Parkes.
Construction update
Around 17 per cent of the 1,600km line is now operational, with the Parkes to Narromine section and major construction works on the Narrabri to North Star Phase 1 project both finished.
Mr Miller said Inland Rail construction is progressing very strongly in the Beveridge to Albury (B2A) section in Victoria and in southern New South Wales between Stockinbingal and Parkes.
“We have just completed very successful works during possessions in both sections,” Mr Miller said.
“Inland Rail has reached major completion milestones in Tranche 1 of B2A, including completion of a new bridge in Glenrowan, and is expecting to complete all Tranche 1 works in 2025.
“We will shortly begin major construction works on Tranche 2 of the B2A project, having already appointed John Holland as our major contractor.”
In the recent possession completed as part of B2A, Inland Rail lifted the Green Street bridge superstructure into place in Wangaratta, conducted site investigations and survey work in Benalla, Broadford, Tallarook and Seymour, lowered tracks at Wallan and Seymour and installed new signal gantries at Kilmore East and Tallarook.
In New South Wales, major works have already begun on the Stockinbingal to Parkes section of the project, and are progressing well.
In the recent possession completed in mid-September for the S2P section, new turnouts were installed at the new crossing loop at Daroobalgie and the track was lowered at Wyndham Avenue at Forbes and the station awning at Forbes Station reduced, enabling double-stacked trains to pass through.
Elsewhere in New South Wales, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) approved the environmental impact statement and supporting documents for the Illabo to Stockinbingal section in early September. The project is now under Commonwealth assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
Inland Rail is continuing to progress approvals for the Albury to Illabo section of the project with the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.
“Once environmental approvals have been granted in the coming months, Inland Rail expects to begin major construction in the Albury to Illabo and Illabo to Stockinbingal sections in New South Wales next year, meaning construction will be underway in all Beveridge to Parkes sections,” Mr Miller said.
“Two of the twelve sections of the project, Parkes to Narromine and Narrabri to North Star (Phase 1), are already operational.
“In terms of construction of the project north of Narromine, in line with the recommendations of the independent review into Inland Rail, accepted by the Australian Government, Inland Rail is focusing on completing construction of the Beveridge to Parkes sections of the project by 2027 and on securing environmental approvals and land acquisitions for the Narromine to Kagaru sections of the project.
Inland Rail has already secured planning approvals for the Narromine to Narrabri (N2N) and North Star to the Border (NS2B) Inland Rail projects in northern New South Wales and is continuing with design and securing land.
“Completing this work north of Narromine will help Inland Rail deliver a better-informed estimate to the Australian Government for the total cost and delivery schedule of completing the Inland Rail project from Melbourne through to Brisbane.
“Future decisions by the Australian Government on the delivery of sections north of Narromine will be considered once the Australian Government has more certainty as to the delivery and full cost of Inland Rail.”
Key milestones and achievements
There have been several significant achievements on the completed sections of Inland Rail so far.
Parkes to Narromine
The Parkes to Narromine section is the first rail infrastructure project to install carbon neutral concrete culverts that reduced carbon emissions by more than 7,250t CO2-e, the equivalent to removing approximately 1,350 vehicles from the road for a year. 100 per cent of spoil on the project was reused and diverted from landfill. 297,000m3 of blended ballast and ash was reincorporated during formation works, reducing emissions associated with hauling materials.
Narrabri to North Star Phase 1
During Narrabri to North Star Phase 1, Trans4m Rail upgraded six site caravans with solar panels, batteries, timers and manual/auto switches. This helped achieve a 50 per cent reduction in diesel, operational greenhouse gas emissions and generator maintenance costs.
Stockinbingal to Parkes
In September 2023, the Stockinbingal to Parkes section received an ‘Excellent’ Design rating from the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (IS Council) for its best practice outcomes in economic, social and environmental performance metrics. IS Council reviewed Inland Rail’s approach to increasing vertical clearance under the Wyndham Avenue Road Bridge in Forbes and building a new crossing loop north of the Daroobalgie Road level crossing.
What’s next?
Over the next 12-24 months Inland Rail will be in construction all the way from Beveridge to Parkes, helping the project reach its target of completing the entire section by 2027. Providing that all approvals are successfully completed, construction will also begin on two major sections of the project in New South Wales.
These include the Albury to Illabo section which runs through the city of Wagga Wagga, and enhancements along approximately 185km of existing rail corridor from Albury on the Victoria-New South Wales border to Illabo in regional New South Wales.
In June 2023, Inland Rail appointed Martinus Rail to design and construct enhancement works on the Albury to Illabo and Stockinbingal to Parkes sections of Inland Rail.
Additionally, the Illabo to Stockinbingal project will include constructing 39km of new rail track in the Junee and Cootamundra regions of New South Wales, creating a new direct route from east of Illabo tracking north to Stockinbingal. The route will bypass the townships of Cootamundra and Bethungra and the winding, steep section of track known as the Bethungra Spiral on the Main South line, opening a more efficient way to transport freight through the area. The Illabo to Stockinbingal project is the largest section of Greenfield rail on the Beveridge to Parkes section of the project.
With the Federal Government having approved the Narromine to Narrabri section in February 2024, the only remaining New South Wales approval north of Narromine is phase two of the Narrabri to North Star section.
In Queensland, Inland Rail continues to progress its Environmental Impact Statement for the Border to Gowrie section with the Queensland Coordinator General. Work on progressing the remainder of the Queensland sections continues.
Engaging local communities and business
Inland Rail has worked extensively to leave behind a legacy on the Inland Rail alignment. One way it has done this is through the Inland Rail Skills Academy, which works with industry partners to deliver programs that build skills and prosperity in local communities, regions and around Australia.
To date, the Inland Rail Skills Academy has:
- Awarded 26 scholarships to undergraduate students
- Trained 550 people in civil construction and rail competencies (almost 50 per cent of whom are First Nations people)
- Upskilled more than 620 local and First Nations businesses through workshops and training
- Engaged more than 11,500 students in STEM education opportunities; of whom around ten per cent are First Nations people and 46 per cent are female
- Upskilled 620 local and First Nations businesses to work on major projects, including Inland Rail
- Engaged 15 schools along the Inland Rail alignment in our Clontarf and STARS Foundations programs – more than 1,100 First Nations students have participated in these programs
- Delivered sustainability mentoring for businesses
In addition to the work that has been done with upskilling local communities via training, the project has also helped to create new opportunities for local companies and workers.
“A primary focus of ours is to create social and economic benefits for the regional communities in which we are working,” Mr Miller said.
“We are committed to investing in regional communities by providing sustainable business and job opportunities for local and First Nations businesses.
“Inland Rail construction has already brought major benefits to communities along the alignment with some $485 million spent with over 700 local businesses and over 2,900 local workers helping to deliver the project.”
Inland Rail has spent over $100 million with nearly 300 local companies on Tranche 1 of the B2A project and a further $7.4 million has been spent with local companies on A2P, with a lot more to come next year as construction begins on A2I and I2S.
Inland Rail has now employed over 5,750 people on the project to date, with around half of these being residents and over 460 being First Nations peoples.
