Timeline

To deliver the 1,700km rail line, Inland Rail is divided into 13 projects across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

Each project has its own timeline with one section already completed, another section recently commencing construction and a number of other sections going through the Environmental Impact Statement process. 

  • 2006 – North-South Corridor Study - This study considered 4 potential corridors for Inland Rail to determine which would deliver the best economic and financial outcome.
  • 2010 – Inland Rail Implementation Group Report examined the optimum alignment, economic benefits and commerciality of a Melbourne to Brisbane railway.
  • 2013 – Formation of the Inland Rail Implementation Group (IRIG).
  • 2013–14 Federal Budget initial grant funding allocation of $300 million for pre-construction activities.
  • 2014 – The Inland Rail Service Offering was established by representatives from the transport and logistics industries to determine the key outputs that Inland Rail would offer to market in relation to transit time, reliability, price and freight availability.
  • 2015 – Inland Rail Implementation Group Report and associated program Business Case which outlined a 10-year delivery schedule for Inland Rail and endorsed a ‘base case’ corridor (refined from the 2010 Alignment Study).
  • 2016 – Infrastructure Australia [PDF 109KB] evaluation of the Inland Rail Business Case rated Inland Rail as a priority based on their determination of evidence of a long-term stream of benefits to potential users of the project.
  • 2016 – The Yelarbon to Gowrie (Y2G) Project Reference Group finalised the Y2G report. This review assessed 4 alignment options for the section of Inland Rail between Yelarbon and Gowrie in Queensland.
  • 2016 – Establishment of the Inland Rail Sponsors Group to provide senior level oversight of the delivery of Inland Rail.
  • 2016–17 Federal Budget announcement that Inland Rail would be delivered by the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) in partnership with the private sector. An additional $593 million in equity to ARTC for the purposes of land acquisition, due diligence and continued pre-construction activities.
  • 2017–18 Federal Budget commitment of $8.4 billion in additional funds from the Australian Government in equity investment in ARTC and announcement of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the Gowrie to Kagaru project in Queensland.
    • This brought the total Australian Government financing towards the delivery of Inland Rail to $9.3 billion, comprising equity and grant funding.
  • 2018 – Pilot Study undertaken by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to model potential transport cost savings for supply chains.
  • 2018 – Victoria signs a Bilateral Agreement with the Australian Government for the delivery of Inland Rail in Victoria.
  • 2018 – Establishment of Department regional offices in Toowoomba, Dubbo and Wodonga to enable a local presence and engage with the communities to strengthen relationships in those areas.
  • 2018 – Bilateral Agreement signed between the Australian Government and the New South Wales Government for the delivery of Inland Rail in NSW.
  • 2018 – Construction commenced on the Parkes to Narromine project in New South Wales.
  • 2019–20 Federal Budget announcement of $44 million in funding for the development of business cases as part of the Interface Improvement Program to enhance connectivity and productivity from Inland Rail.
  • 2019–20 Federal Budget announcement of investment of up to $20 million by the Australian Government to partner with the Victorian and Queensland Government to develop business cases for new intermodal terminals in Melbourne and Brisbane.
  • 2019 – Bilateral Agreement signed between the Australian Government and Queensland Government for the delivery of Inland Rail in Queensland.
  • 2020 – Establishment of Department regional office in Moree.
  • 2020 – Prefeasibility study exploring the demand for freight and viability of extending Inland Rail to the Port of Gladstone released.
  • 2020 – Announcement of an Independent International Panel of Experts for flood studies to provide advice to the Commonwealth and Queensland Government on flood modelling and structural designs by ARTC for Inland Rail.
  • 2020 – First project of Inland Rail, from Parkes to Narromine in New South Wales, completed.
  • 2020 – Construction commenced on the second section of Inland Rail, from Narrabri to North Star in New South Wales.
  • 2020 – The Australian Government committed up to an additional $5.5 billion in equity to enable ARTC to deliver Inland Rail.
  • 2021 – The Australian Government committed up to $10 million to investigate the viability of extending Inland Rail from Toowoomba to Gladstone.
  • 2021 – The Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee report on Inland Rail was published.
  • 2021 – The Australian Government responded to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee report on Inland Rail.
  • 2022 – The Australian Government announced an independent review of the Inland Rail project.
  • 2022 – The Independent International Panel of Experts for flood studies final report published.