Inland Rail celebrates 12 months of delivery

Overhead view of Parkes New South Wales
Tuesday 24 December 2019

December 2019 marks one year since construction began on Inland Rail, the most significant freight rail infrastructure project in Australia’s history.

On 13 December 2018, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack turned the first sod of Inland Rail in Parkes, New South Wales, making this nation changing project a reality. Look back at the sod turn event.

Inland Rail - Parkes Sod Turning from Infrastructure & Regional Dev on Vimeo.
 

Inland Rail is well underway with many achievements:

  • Completed construction of the Northwest Connection that will enable the north-south Inland Rail to hook into the interstate east-west line from Perth to Sydney
  • Regional Australia has benefited from Inland Rail with more than $46 million in contract commitments for local companies in the first construction underway. In the Parkes region approximately 1,000 people have already worked on the project – over 400 of them local. 
  • Research conducted by the CSIRO earlier this year showed that Inland Rail will provide significant freight cost savings for Australian farmers and producers – indicating a potential transport cost savings of between $64 and $94 per tonne, by moving certain farm freight onto the Inland Rail line.
  • Over $300 million construction contract signed with INLink Joint Venture for the Parkes to Narromine section.
  • $7 million awarded to Parkes-based companies Calvani Crushing and Ausrock Quarries for ballast.

The benefits of Inland Rail extend beyond the alignment:

  • $20 million awarded to Rocla for 200,000 concrete sleepers – creating 20 jobs in the Southern Highlands.
  • $51 million committed with Liberty OneSteel Whyalla Steelworks for 38,000 tonnes of steel rail. 
  • $44 million in the 2019-20 Federal Budget for an Inland Rail Interface Improvement Program, designed to enable local communities, industry and governments to identify projects that can connect into Inland Rail to maximise the long-term benefits of regional access to the national freight network
  • $20 million from the Australian Government to fund two business cases (capped at $10 million each) with the Victorian and Queensland Governments to consider the development of intermodal terminals in Melbourne and Brisbane.
  • $20 million for the further planning to future proof the Port of Brisbane connection.