Inland Rail is a 1,700km fast freight backbone that will transform how we move goods around Australia by providing transit times of less than 24 hours for freight trains between Melbourne and Brisbane. Comprising 13 individual projects, Inland Rail is the largest freight rail infrastructure project in Australia and will enable safer, less congested highways, fewer carbon emissions, cheaper freight costs and new economic opportunities for our regions. The Australian Government selected the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) to deliver Inland Rail, in partnership with the private sector.
In 2017, the Australian Government confirmed the Gowrie to Kagaru section of Inland Rail in Queensland will be designed, built, managed and financed through a PPP.
The 128km Gowrie to Kagaru section is the most technically complex of the 13 projects comprising Inland Rail. It requires the construction of a 6.2km tunnel through the Toowoomba Range, numerous viaducts, bridges and crossing loops to build a new dual gauge track traversing Toowoomba, the Lockyer Valley, Ipswich and the Scenic Rim.
The Gowrie to Kagaru section is divided into three separate projects:-
Gowrie to Helidon
The 28km Gowrie to Helidon section includes constructing a new track through the Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley region in Queensland and building a vast freight tunnel. The new dual gauge track will run from Gowrie, north-west of Toowoomba to Helidon, east of Toowoomba. It will include several significant viaducts and cuttings. A new 6.2km tunnel will be built through the Toowoomba Range, making it the largest diameter diesel freight tunnel in the southern hemisphere.
Helidon to Calvert
This 47km stretch of Inland Rail involves the construction of a new dual gauge rail line connecting Helidon (east of Toowoomba) with Calvert (west of Ipswich), in Queensland and an 850m-long tunnel through the Little Liverpool Range, near Laidley. The project crosses the Lockyer Valley and Ipswich local government areas, travelling through Placid Hills, Gatton, Forest Hill, Laidley and Grandchester.
Calvert to Kagaru
The 53km Calvert to Kagaru section of Inland Rail includes building a new dual gauge track to provide convenient access for freight to major distribution centres at Bromelton and Acacia Ridge in Queensland. The route will divert from the West Moreton rail line near Calvert and connect to the existing Sydney to Brisbane interstate rail line at Kagaru. In addition to the new track, the works are expected to include a 1.1km tunnel through the Teviot Range, 27 new bridges and up to four crossing loops. For further information please click au/43 for the tunelbuilder archive and also visit https://inlandrail.artc.com.au/ and https://gateway.icn.org.au. 12/22.
Gowrie to Helidon is a link - https://inlandrail.artc.com.au/G2H
Helidon to Calvert is a link - https://inlandrail.artc.com.au/H2C
Calvert to Kagaru is a link - https://inlandrail.artc.com.au/C2K
