Border to Gowrie route assessment
In November 2020 the independent assessment of the proposed alternative routes via Cecil Plains for the Border to Gowrie project was published. This review was undertaken to reassure the community that all possible alternative routes had been thoroughly considered. It examined two options for the proposed route via Cecil Plains to determine whether these could improve the Inland Rail Service Offering in terms of transit time, reliability, availability and cost competitiveness.
Border to Gowrie Reference Design Route
The selected alignment for the Border to Gowrie section in Queensland has been thoroughly considered and informed by multiple studies dating back to 2010, including a review that was overseen by an independent Yelarbon to Gowrie Project Reference Group.
Other studies that informed this Reference Design include the 2010 Inland Rail Alignment Study and the 2015 Inland Rail Implementation Group Report.
The Inland Rail B2G Alternative Route Comparison Review showed that an alternative route via Cecil Plains is more than 25km longer, would add at least 17 minutes to the travel time, increase costs by more than $472 million and would reduce the reliability of the Inland Rail service.
Read the Inland Rail B2G Alternative Route Comparison Review, 2020.
Independent Review of Data
GTA Consultants independently reviewed the data adopted by the Australian Rail Track Corporation and confirmed that it provides a sound basis for the routes to be compared on a like-for-like basis.
The independent review adopted the principles and framework for major project development and appraisal as set out in a range of documents including: the Australian Transport Assessment and Planning (ATAP) guidance notes, Infrastructure Australia Assessment Framework (IAAF), as well as the Transport Appraisal Guidance (webTAG) resource, which has contributed to the development of Australia’s approach to the assessment of major infrastructure projects such as Inland Rail.
The data and information compiled by ARTC is outlined in Appendix A of the Inland Rail B2G Alternative Route Comparison Review, 2020.