Risks of not progressing the Programme

A failure to progress Inland Rail will have significant negative impacts on the future growth potential of the national economy and the prosperity of Australians for generations.

The continuing growth in freight demand calls for immediate action. Without a decision to make a step change in rail efficiency and performance, pressure on the road networks will continue to increase, freight costs will continue to rise, consumers will inevitably pay more for products, and productivity in important industrial sectors will decline.

STRATEGY/PLAN/POLICY ALIGNMENT WITH INLAND RAIL PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES













Provide a backbone rail link between

Melbourne and Brisbane that is interoperable with train operations between Perth and Adelaide to serve future rail freight demand and stimulate freight growth for intercapital and regional/bulk rail freight Provide an increase in productivity that will benefit consumers through lower freight transport costs Provide a step- change improvement in rail service quality in the Melbourne to Brisbane corridor to deliver a freight rail service on the east coast that is competitive with road Improve road safety, ease congestion and reduce environmental impacts by moving freight from road to rail Bypass bottlenecks on congested metropolitan rail networks on the east coast, and free up train paths for other services on the coastal route Act as an enabler for regional economic development along the Inland Rail corridor

New South Wales Draft Newell Highway Corridor Strategy, New South Wales Government, 2014

 New South Wales Freight

and Ports Strategy, New South Wales Government, 2013

     

New South Wales Long Term Transport Master Plan, New South Wales Government, 2012

    

State Infrastructure Strategy (and Update), New South Wales Government, 2012

    

Queensland

Delivering an Infrastructure Plan for Queensland, Directions Paper, 2015, Queensland Government

   

Queensland Ports Strategy, Queensland Government, 2014

 Moving Freight Strategy,

Queensland Government, 2013

   

Southern Freight Rail Corridor Study, Queensland Government, 2010

    

Rail Network Strategy, Queensland Government, 2009

INLAND RAIL PROGRAMME BUSINESS CASE

Road will increasingly become the dominant mode with rail becoming less relevant. A continued over-reliance on road transport to meet the future east coast freight task will increase the vulnerabilities to demographic changes which are, even today, driving shortages of long distance truck drivers and increasing costs.

More specifically, if investment in the east coast freight corridor is not undertaken to increase capacity and minimise supply chain costs, the following risks are highly likely to eventuate:

 National productivity and economic growth will be constrained.

 Freight companies and the consumers of products transported along the corridor are expected to experience

excessive freight costs.

 There will be an increase in congestion on both rail and road networks, given the reliance on shared

freight/passenger corridors.

 There will be an increase in the number of trucks on urban and regional roads required to move the rising freight

volumes.

 Larger trucks (i.e. B-doubles, B-triples) will be mixing with smaller passenger vehicles on major highways.

 Governments will be required to make significant investments in major arterial and regional roads to ensure they

can support the increase in the number and size of heavy vehicles.

 There will be a deterioration of safety on the road network with existing infrastructure not supportive of changes in vehicle mix.

 Ongoing fuel used and emissions discharged from an increased number and size of heavy vehicles will have

environmental impacts.

 An increase in freight road traffic will have major impacts on urban and regional communities on the freight route such as congestion, amenity and noise, resulting in safety and environmental issues. Significant economic impacts associated with the inability of the freight network to meet the demand for goods and services.

2.11. Summary

Inland Rail will connect key production areas in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria with export ports in Brisbane and Melbourne, and provide linkages between Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth. It will reduce freight transit times, reduce congestion on rail and road networks and enable the movement of larger freight volumes via rail by making longer and double stacked trains possible.

Inland Rail will provide the backbone infrastructure necessary to significantly upgrade the performance of the east coast rail freight network to better serve future freight demands, while also diverting demand from an already constrained road freight and rail passenger network.

The expected economic and social costs of not proceeding with the program would be significant and far-reaching. Inland Rail will make it faster, cheaper and more reliable for Australian producers, farmers, manufacturers and retailers to move goods around the country and the world. It will make a significant contribution to the vision for an efficient interstate rail and road network working together to provide cost effective and sustainable connections from key regional markets to ports and key urban and regional freight destinations.

Inland Rail complements and further builds upon other significant infrastructure investments of Australian and state governments, and the private sector. It aligns with key government strategies, policies and plans, and is designed to deliver what industry has long been advocating—a road-competitive service based on transit time, price, reliability and availability.

INLAND RAIL PROGRAMME BUSINESS CASE

Chapter 3