Cloud over QLD section of Inland Rail after damning review

A cloud hangs over the future of the Inland Rail in Queensland, with approvals so far behind there is no estimate on when construction of the project could start in the state.

A cloud hangs over the future of the Inland Rail in Queensland, with approvals so far behind there is no estimate on when construction of the project could start in the state.

Transport Minister Catherine King said the government remained committed to seeing the 1700km rail project completed in full through to Queensland “at this stage”, but contracts and tendering will only take the rail from Melbourne to Parkes in NSW for now.

She said an independent cost estimator and value engineer will now be engaged to determine the updated cost and schedule for the troubled project.

Transport Minister Catherine King. Picture: NCA Newswire / Dan Peled

“We do want to see it get to Ebenezer (in Ipswich), that’s the final point. We’ve got to do a business case on Ebenezer, but we’re not in a position today to start building that to do that,” she said.

It follows a scathing review being handed down on Thursday, which revealed the cost had doubled to more than $31 billion in the past two years and its completion date blown out from 2027 to the 2030s.

But report author Dr Kerry Schott cast doubt even on that time frame, saying she “wouldn’t hang my hat on that”.

Queensland was identified as a major source of delays and cost blow outs, with a poor-quality environmental report by the Australian Rail Track Corporation having been a major source of issues.

Ms King said there were major design questions which had never been decided by the former government which needed to be answered before the project could progress in Queensland.

These include the route from Ebenezer to the Port of Brisbane and to get through the Toowoomba Range.

“We’ve got to be able to answer all of those, particularly in that Queensland bit, before we can start construction,” Ms King said.

“It is abundantly clear that it was never going to be able to get through Acacia Ridge.

“It’s abundantly clear that we’re never going to be able to bring double-stacked trains through the suburbs of Brisbane into the Port of Brisbane.”

The review backed in Ebenezer in Ipswich as the final destination in Queensland, ahead of the previously-mooted Acacia Ridge.

Logan Mayor Darren Power. Picture: Richard Walker

This decision was welcomed by Logan Mayor Darren Power who said sending double-stacked trains through Logan and Brisbane would never have worked.

“The fact that they are saying it doesn’t go any further than Ebenezer is music to our ears. We feel like we’ve been listened too,” he said.