THE AUSTRALIAN government announced on Friday (7 October) an independent review of the vast $14.5-billion Inland Rail project.

The government announced the review will be headed up by Dr Kerry Schott.

The review will consider the processes for selecting the route for the rail project. It will also assess options for new Inland Rail intermodal terminals to be built in Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as improving rail links to the two cities at the ends of the route.

The review will have regard to existing studies, such as the Toowoomba to Gladstone Inland Rail Extension Business Case.

The independent review is expected to be completed by early 2023. The government said intends to release the findings of the review once it has an opportunity to consider them.

Federal minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government Catherine King said the government was delivering on an election commitment to undertake an independent review on Inland Rail.

“The review will give the government a clear-eyed view on what the problems are and the way forward,” she said.

“Dr Schott is a highly respected and trusted leader who brings a wealth of experience from both the business and government sectors to the role. She will conduct a thorough and independent review of Inland Rail and make recommendations to ensure this nationally significant project is successfully delivered.”

Federal minister for finance Senator Katy Gallagher said Inland Rail supports local jobs and growing Australian companies, with more than $2.7 billion in contracts being awarded to over 400 suppliers and businesses across the country.

“The program has also provided work for more than 3600 locals in the communities surrounding Parkes and Narromine, and further north in Moree which, in turn, has boosted these local economies,” she said.

“It is important that we consider expert advice on critical issues of safety, delivery scope, cost and schedule as we look to deliver this significant investment in the national freight network.”

Flood study review

At the same time, the federal government also released the final report of the Independent International Panel of Experts for Flood Studies of Inland Rail in Queensland.

The government welcomed the findings of the panel and said it would work with both the Queensland government and Australian Rail Track Corporation to implement the panel’s recommendations.

The panel was convened to advise the federal and state governments on flood modelling and best practice for the design of waterway structures in a floodplain environment.

In its final report, the panel noted the substantial amount of work undertaken by ARTC to identify existing flooding characteristics and to assess and mitigate potential impacts associated with each of the project sections.

“Taking into consideration the additional information provided by ARTC, the panel found ARTC’s modelling framework to be in accordance with both national guidelines and current industry best practice with the issues in the IMR [issues management register] to be addressed,” the report said.

“Significant infrastructure projects, like Inland Rail, are accomplished through an iterative process. As such, it is normal practice for iterative improvements and changes to occur through the various project design and approval stages. Therefore, it is normal for issues associated with the design to be identified throughout the project, such as those identified by the panel and for them to be progressively addressed at the relevant stage of the project.”

The panel made six recommendations in its report “to assist ARTC in its future design and delivery of the Inland Rail project in Queensland.

The recommendations included that ARTC incorporates revised modelling results; ensures project knowledge is retained and available; implements best practice processes to confirm the impacts of waterway crossings have been appropriately considered; adopts the panels recommended design parameters to inform the future identification and mitigation of future flood impacts; considers the flood events in late 2021 and early 2022 as either a validation or calibration events; and undertakes a geomorphic risk assessments to inform future design stages.