Albanese government abandons beleaguered inland rail project connecting NSW with Queensland
The Albanese government has abandoned the northern half of the Inland Rail project, which was originally intended to connect Melbourne to near Brisbane, citing cost overruns and delays. The project will now only link Beveridge in Victoria to Parkes in New South Wales, with $1.75 billion redirected to other rail upgrades. The decision follows a 2023 review that highlighted governance failures and escalating costs under the previous Coalition government.
- ▪The Inland Rail project has been scaled back from a 1,700km Melbourne-to-Brisbane route to only connecting Beveridge, Victoria, to Parkes, New South Wales.
- ▪The project's estimated cost has risen to over $45 billion, up from $9.3 billion when first announced by the Coalition in 2017.
- ▪A 2023 independent review by Dr Kerry Schott found major deficiencies in governance and delivery under the previous government.
- ▪The government will reallocate $1.75 billion from the project to other national rail upgrades.
- ▪Construction of the shortened route is expected to be completed by late 2027.
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The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, said federal Labor was ‘taking sensible decisions to realign the future of Inland Rail’, with $1.75bn of the project’s funding reallocated to other national rail upgrades. Photograph: Lukas Coch/APView image in fullscreenThe infrastructure minister, Catherine King, said federal Labor was ‘taking sensible decisions to realign the future of Inland Rail’, with $1.75bn of the project’s funding reallocated to other national rail upgrades.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at the Guardian.
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