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Inland Rail works will stop at Parkes in the north in a federal government decision that’s been slammed by regional MPs.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Catherine King announced on Wednesday, 6 May, that the government had taken the decision to consolidate the Inland Rail project by completing construction between Beveridge in Victoria and Parkes in New South Wales by the end of 2027.
This will enable double-stacked freight trains to travel between Melbourne and Perth, via Parkes.
But independent cost assurance work completed by ACIL Allen Pty Ltd puts the cost estimate in excess of $45 billion to deliver the full Inland Rail project from Melbourne to Brisbane – which the government says is three times the current budget allocation.
The Minister said Inland Rail works north of Parkes will focus on preservation of the rail corridor, as well as protecting sites for future Inland Rail intermodal terminals in Queensland.
“We are taking sensible decisions to realign the future of Inland Rail and build a safe, efficient and reliable network for the future,” Ms King said.
Her statement announced a further $1.75 billion investment in rail.
The works will involve upgrades to improve the efficiency of the East Coast network, including track renewal works, passing loop extensions, improved signalling to remove key speed restrictions, improve transit times, support larger trains and enhance service reliability and safety.
Works will also include resilience upgrades in high-risk flood-prone sections particularly along the East-West Corridor, which has faced many multi-week closures over the last decade following downpours in central Australia.
Regional MPs have slammed the announcement, Member for Parkes Jamie Chaffey describing it as a betrayal of regional Australia.
Inland Rail works around Parkes and Forbes have already been completed.
“It throws away the $3.5 billion already spent on this critical project which is approximately 17 per cent complete,” Mr Chaffey said.
“Conservative estimates put the pre-construction sunk cost north of Parkes alone at $500 million to $1 billion – every dollar unrecoverable.
“More than 160km of upgraded track between Narrabri and North Star – which has been completed and operational since 2023 – is now a spur to nowhere, disconnected at both ends and generating no commercial value.
“Labor has said this is a financial decision, but the cost of this project that has been in the pipeline for 100 years will only skyrocket in the century ahead.
"Now 200,000 truck movements each year are locked onto regional roads, and we are looking at no significant further capacity to grow our country’s productivity.
“That money is yet more funding ripped out of regional Australia to go to metropolitan areas.”
Member for Riverina Michael McCormack said decision would come at the cost of regional jobs.
“The Inland Rail is nation-building infrastructure – I was the Minister who signed the inter-governmental agreements with then Victorian Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan in Melbourne on 16 March 2018, then New South Wales Deputy Premier John Barilaro in Parkes on 4 May 2018, and then Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey on 29 November 2019 in Toowoomba,” he said.
“This Government has thumbed its nose at the regions from the moment it came into office.
“From ceasing regional funding programs, such as the Building Better Regions Fund in 2022, to putting a pause on projects to conduct a 90-day review which took more than 200 days, creating uncertainty and delays to regional roads and other infrastructure projects.”