Toowoomba leaders Geoff McDonald, Garth Hamilton, John McVeigh urge Inland Rail to at least reach Gowrie

With the future of the bloated and delayed Inland Rail project still unclear, Toowoomba’s leaders have flown to Canberra to urge the federal government to at least get the line to our region. Here’s why:

John McVeigh; Geoff McDonald; Garth Hamilton on the Inland Rail.

Toowoomba’s political and economic leaders have called on the federal government to do one thing with the beleaguered Inland Rail — “get it to Gowrie”.

Mayor Geoff McDonald and federal MP Garth Hamilton have implored Infrastructure Minister Catherine King to ensure the bloated rail project reaches Toowoomba, arguing up to 90 per cent of the outcomes predicted for the Inland Rail can be achieved by getting to Gowrie Junction near Charlton.

It comes after a delegation by lobby group Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise to Canberra last week, which the mayor joined, learned the environmental impact statement for the section from Gowrie to the border won’t be delivered until next year.

This is confirmed on the Queensland Government’s website, which reset the project lapse to July 1, 2025 on March 1.

The delay, coupled with the termination of a public-private partnership for the Gowrie-to-Kagura section that included tunnelling through the Toowoomba range, has raised further doubts about the deliverability of the entire project through Queensland.

Mr McDonald said getting the Inland Rail to Gowrie needed to be the priority, arguing freight could then be connected by road to the Port of Brisbane.

“The message was pretty clear, to support the project, the federal government has stated they’re going to Ebenezer (near Brisbane) but the delegation suggested Ebenezer would be many years away, so the campaign is to get it to Gowrie,” he said.

“90 per cent of what was expected to be achieved, would be achieved by getting it Toowoomba and that’s around $10-12bn that the government wouldn’t have to spend getting it to Ebenezer, not to mention the cost to get it to port.”

Toowoomba Regional Council Mayor Geoff McDonald.

TSBE chairman and former Groom MP John McVeigh said this message was highlighted to Ms King during the delegation’s half-hour meeting.

“What I know from the discussions was that she reiterated the federal government’s vision was to get it from Melbourne to Brisbane,” he said.

“We stressed once Inland Rail reaches Gowrie, connection has technically been made to Brisbane through the bypass and other hubs.

“Everyone recognises that Toowoomba range is the most complex part of the entire route, so I take what the minister has said about retaining a vision from Melbourne to Brisbane with some confidence, but I acknowledge this last leg is the most challenging.”

Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise (TSBE) chairman Dr John McVeigh talks to media. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Current Groom MP Garth Hamilton said he supported ending the project at Toowoomba, having already called into question the viability of delivering Inland Rail to Ebenezer.

A review released last year by esteemed Australian executive Dr Kerry Schott dismissed the proposal to end the route at Gowrie, expressing concern about increase impacts on the road network and questions about the level of competition it would create.

“The (Toowoomba) option was not pursued due to its significant distance from Brisbane, the low level of interest from industry generating concerns about the level of competition, and concerns about the additional road freight traffic this option would generate on the Warrego Highway,” her report said.