Alternative forestry routes found to add hundreds of millions in cost to Inland Rail project

Just over four months since it was requested by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, the Department of Infrastructure has quietly published an independent review of the Border to Gowrie Inland Rail route.

The Federal Government has published its review of an alternative Inland Rail route across the Condamine Floodplain, almost two months after the final report was completed.

The review was published, with no announcement, to the Federal Government Department of Infrastructure’s Inland Rail website on Monday.

It compared the government’s selected route against two variations of the alternative “forestry route” via Cecil Plains.

The report found the Cecil Plains via Wellcamp option would be 26km longer than the government’s selected route, and that crossing the Condamine Floodplain would take 33km of track, including 6.3km of bridge and 2030 culverts.

That was compared to the government’s selected route, which involved a 12.5km crossing of the Condamine Floodplain, using 6.1km of bridge and 540 culverts.

A variation of the forestry route that connected with the existing rail line at Kingsthorpe instead of Wellcamp was longer than the government’s preferred option by 28km.

The report also found both forestry routes would add between 17 and 20 minutes to the route’s transit time.

In terms of operating costs over the lifetime of the project, the Cecil Plains – Wellcamp option was calculated to result in an additional $190 million in costs, while the Cecil Plains – Kingsthorpe option would increase costs by $202 million compared to the government’s selected route.

Additionally, the Cecil Plains – Wellcamp option was calculated to cost $282 million more than the government’s preferred route, and the Kingsthorpe option was calculated to cost $304 million more.

The report said ARTC calculated that by choosing one of the Cecil Plains options, the construction end date of the route would be pushed back by two years.

The review comes after years of pressure from landholders.

In late June Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack prepared a letter asking for an immediate review of an alternate route for the Border to Gowrie section of the project.

Residents and landholders have long opposed the Federal Government’s selected route, which crosses the Condamine Floodplain at Brookstead and which they say risks exacerbating flood levels.

The review did not assess or provide advice on which route was preferred, or on the economic or engineering feasibility of the project.