$8.4bn budget boost for Inland Rail link between Melbourne and Brisbane

An inland rail link between Brisbane and Melbourne takes a step closer to construction with an $8.4 billion boost in budget for the project from the Australian Government’s Federal Budget 2017-18.

“In one of the biggest investments ever seen in regional Australia the Government will fund the Melbourne to Brisbane Inland Rail project with $8.4 billion,” Treasurer Scott Morrison said.

According to Mr Morrison, construction on the project is expected to commence within the year. The Treasurer also said that the 1,700-kilometre rail project will be able to generate 16,000 jobs during peak construction, which will boost the economies of Melbourne, Brisbane and a number of regional communities along the project route.

Australian Rail Track Corporation – a Commonwealth-owned entity – has been engaging with south-east Queensland land owners for the past 12 months for land acquisition.

The private sector is expected to partner with Government for the delivery of complex elements of the project, including major tunnelling works on a 126-kilometre section between Kagaru and Toowoomba. An 8.9-kilometre tunnel will also be required through the Toowoomba Range.

On a joint media statement from the Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester, they stated: “Inland Rail is a national project that provide effective risk management and harness innovative design solutions for this nationally significant project, which is the biggest Commonwealth rail construction project since the transcontinental rail link across the Nullabor was finished 100 years ago.”

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Source: Herald Sun, Minister for Urban infrastructure and Minister for Infrastructure and Transport