Melbourne to Brisbane rail link: Final section of Inland Rail given approval in New South Wales

A final section of the much-heralded Inland Rail link from Melbourne to Brisbane has been approved — but no one knows when the project will get built.

The cost-plagued 1600km rail line, funded by the Federal Government, is designed to reduce the number of semitrailers on the Pacific Highway to improve road safety and take freight trains off Sydney’s suburban rail network.

The New South Wales Government on Friday said it had approved a 184km section between Narrabri, Moree and North Star, near the Queensland border.

The Australian Rail Track Corporation, the Federal agency in charge of the project, is yet to confirm a construction date for the second phase of the Narrabri to North Star section of the Inland Rail project, which now has state approval.

Cost overruns are likely to keep delaying the project, University of New South Wales economics professor Richard Holden says, with materials and labour are in short supply while Federal Government debt is high.

“That can undermine the business case or the business case needs to be reconsidered,” he said.

“The Inland Rail project in particular, the business case was always incredibly shaky and my own perspective on the Inland Rail project was that it was heavy on politics and very light on economics.”

The project would upgrade existing track and build a new rail line through the Narrabri, Gwydir and Moree Plains council areas.

The State Government approval was contingent on flooding, biodiversity, traffic and Aboriginal cultural assessments.

“By shifting freight from road to rail, we’re cutting emissions and making our road network safer,” NSW Planning Minister Paul Scully said.

“This is more than just laying down steel - it’s laying the groundwork for regional growth, unlocking new opportunities in logistics, agriculture and trade.”

Phase 2 of the Narrabri to North Star section is expected to create 150 jobs during construction and 50 continuing jobs, but requires federal environmental approvals.

Upon completion, the line will be able to transport 21 double-stacked trains.

The Victorian Government has given environmental approvals for the Beveridge-to-Albury section on the Murray River state border.

Queensland’s Co-Ordinator General is assessing a revised environmental impact statement from the border with NSW to Gowrie near Toowoomba.

Construction on the Inland Rail began in 2018 but by 2023, costs had doubled to $31.4 billion, an independent review by Kerry Schott found. She also questioned the planned 2027 completion date, announced in 2020 during COVID before the inflation surge.

“It is now clear, on advice given to this Review, that the 2020 schedule cannot be achieved,” her report said.

“This is an astonishing estimated cost increase of almost double in just two years.”

Immature preliminary designs and approval requirements and prolonged approval processes were blamed.

At the time, Labor Transport Minister Catherine King blamed the previous Coalition government for the cost overruns.

“Dr Schott’s report is clear. Inland Rail is behind schedule, over budget and requires a fundamental reset,” she said in April 2023.

“Given the abysmal state the former government left the project in, we must take immediate action to get it back on track.”

Former Nationals deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was a key advocate of the project under the former Coalition government, with the Inland Rail running just outside his New England electorate.

The Commonwealth’s Australian Rail Track Corporation had carriage of the project, involving upgrades to 1000km of existing track and building 600km of new track in regional Victoria, NSW and Queensland.

It will run from Beveridge north of Melbourne to Kagaru near Brisbane.

The review recommended prioritising the section between Beveridge and Parkes in western NSW by 2027.