Railways and Tramways of Australia

Inland Rail

David Matheson

14 April 2018

Updated 18 December 2025

 

Inland Rail is a major Australian railway infrastructure development. It involves a freight railway line of 1600 km in length between Melbourne and Brisbane. The route will travel through regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Inland Rail will enable freight to be transported more efficiently in Australia’s eastern states, which will provide economic benefits for regional areas and major cities.

 

The Inland Rail line will use the existing interstate line from Melbourne to Illabo, located between Cootamundra and Junee. Existing track will be upgraded to accommodate double-stacked trains, allowing them to carry up to twice as many containers. A combination of new and upgraded tracks will be used from Illabo via Parkes, Moree, Toowoomba and Calvert, to reach the existing interstate line at Kagaru, south of Brisbane. Environmental assessments and community engagement with local councils, landholders and other stakeholders form a key part of the pre-construction work, particularly in areas where new railway alignments will be built.

 

Some of the key features of Inland Rail are:

• The Inland Rail line will incorporate 1000 km of existing railway corridors and of 600 km of new track.

• There are 12 separate projects that are part of Inland Rail: one in Victoria, seven in New South Wales, and four in Queensland.

• The line will have connections with existing standard gauge lines in New South Wales and Victoria.

• Dual gauge sections will provide connections to the existing Queensland regional railway network.

• Inland Rail traverses Australia’s four richest farming regions: Darling Downs in Queensland; West Moreton in Queensland; Northern New South Wales; and the Goulburn Valley region in Victoria.

• Inland Rail will be single track, with a number of passing loops along the route.

• The line will have 7.1-metre clearances, providing capacity for double-stacked containers.

• The track will be built to enable trains with up to a 21-tonne axle load to operate.

• Trains will be able to travel at speeds up to 115km/h.

• Trains will be up to 1800 metres in length, with the future possibility of trains up to 3600 metres.

• Transit times between Melbourne and Brisbane will be up to ten hours faster than the existing route.

 

The 12 projects that comprise Inland Rail are listed below.

Beveridge (Victoria) to Albury (Victoria–New South Wales)

This section has approximately 262 km of existing track, which will be upgraded to increase the height clearance, enabling double-stacking. Work will include track lowering, modifications to road and pedestrian bridges, and modifications to signal structures.

Albury to Illabo (New South Wales)

This section has approximately 185 km of existing track, which will be upgraded to increase the height clearance, enabling double-stacking. Work will include track lowering or shifting, and raising, widening or replacing bridges.

Illabo to Stockinbingal (New South Wales)

This section will involve construction of 37 km of new track and 2 km of upgraded track. This new direct section of track will reduce the existing route between Illabo and Stockinbingal via Cootamundra by approximately 30 km and bypass the Bethungra Spiral.

Stockinbingal to Parkes (New South Wales)

This section has approximately 170 km of existing track, which has been upgraded by ARTC, but further work will be required to increase the height clearance, enabling double-stacking. Work will include track lowering or shifting, and raising, widening or replacing bridges.

Parkes to Narromine (New South Wales)

This section has approximately 98 km of existing track and 5 km of new track. It has been completed and is operational.

Narromine to Narrabri (New South Wales)

This section will involve construction of 306 km of new track. Narromine to Narrabri will involve construction of the longest section of new track on the Inland Rail line.

Narrabri to North Star (New South Wales)

This section has approximately 184 km of upgraded track and 2 km of new track.

North Star (New South Wales) to New South Wales–Queensland border

This section has approximately 25 km along the disused railway line to Boggabilla, which will be rebuilt with new track, and 2 km from Boggabilla to Yelarbon, located on the Warwick to Thallon line, which previously extended to Dirranbandi.

New South Wales–Queensland border to Gowrie (Queensland)

This section will take the line from the New South Wales–Queensland border to Gowrie, which is north-west of Toowoomba. It includes 149 km of new track and 68 km of upgraded track.

Gowrie to Helidon (Queensland)

This section will involve construction of approximately 28 km of new dual gauge track. Gowrie is north-west of Toowoomba and Helidon is east of Toowoomba. Work will include a tunnel of 6.2 km in length through the Toowoomba Range.

Helidon to Calvert (Queensland)

This section will involve construction of approximately 28 km of new track. Helidon is east of Toowoomba and Calvert is near Ipswich. Work will include an 850-metre tunnel under the Little Liverpool Range.

Calvert to Kagaru (Queensland)

This section will involve construction of approximately 53 km of new dual gauge track within the existing rail corridor. It will connect the Inland Rail line with the existing Sydney to Brisbane railway line and the Port of Brisbane. Calvert is near Ipswich; Kagaru is north of Beaudesert, and is on the existing Sydney–Brisbane railway line. Work will include a 1.1 km tunnel under the Teviot Range. Single-stacked trains will operate between Kagaru and a terminal at Ebenezer

 

The Australian Government has committed funding to construction of the Inland Rail line through the Australian Rail Track Corporation, but will also work in partnership with private industry. It is anticipated that freight trains will travel between Melbourne and Brisbane in under 24 hours. When completed, any accredited operator will be able to apply to operate trains services along the Inland Rail line. Although it is designed for freight services, passenger train operators may also seek permission to access the line.

  

Further information about Inland Rail, including maps, media releases and progress updates can be found on the Inland Rail website <https://inlandrail.artc.com.au>.

 

References

Australian Rail Track Corporation, Inland rail: programme business case, Adelaide, 2015.

Australian Rail Track Corporation, Melbourne–Brisbane Inland Rail alignment study: Final report, Australian Rail Track Corporation, Adelaide, 2010.

Australian Rail Track Corporation, The case for inland rail, Adelaide, no date.

Department of Infrastructure, Transport Regional Development, Communication, Sport and the Arts, Australian Government

     <https://infrastructure.gov.au>.

Inland Rail, Australian Rail Track Corporation <https://inlandrail.artc.com.au>.