The NTR Inland Rail Solution

NTR’s vision is to deliver an integrated, 1600km high speed standard gauge
trunk rail system linking the Melbourne and Brisbane ports.

NTR’s “whole of supply chain” solution is in lieu of the Federal Government’s
under-funded Australian Rail Track Corporation proposal.

NTR will set new standards for long haul freight efficiency and reliability
while facilitating the export of agricultural and mineral resources from
regions as far as 800km from the ports of Melbourne and Brisbane.

NTR has invested three years and more than $20 million to research the best
design for a 21st century inland rail solution.

The NTR solution is shorter, flatter and straighter than the ARTC proposal.
It will also be faster.

Why build anything less?
NTR’s solution is 1595km long (approximately 135km shorter than ARTC)
with 1100 metres lower elevational lift.

Operational modelling shows NTR’s solution is 30% more efficient than
the ARTC proposal and 95% more efficient than the existing
Melbourne – Sydney – Brisbane coastal rail route.

Under a competitive PPP process, inland rail could be
delivered within six years of approvals.

NTR’s investment to date has brought us to pre-feasibility stage.

We are ready to move to the next phase.

Government funding shortfall

Between 2015-16 and 2018-19 the Federal Government will spend
$25.5 billion on road infrastructure and just $4.01 billion on rail.

$6 out of every $7 is to be spent on roads.

In 2010, the cost of the ARTC inland rail proposal was
estimated at $4.7 billion.
However, NTR’s assessment of the ARTC proposal is that it
will cost at least $10 billion. This has recently been validated with ARTC advising a new cost estimate of $10.7 billion.

The Federal Government has committed just $300 million to the inland
rail project. The May Budget allocated a further $593.7 million for the 3 years from 2017/18. Hansard reports ARTC CEO John Fullerton noting that “There will not be any track built for that money“.

Based on the ARTC’s last disclosed figures, that leaves an approximate $10 billion
gap between what the federal government has committed and what the
project requires.

Inland rail is a once-in-a-generation project that should be built
to a standard, not a budget.

It is a nation-building project which will stand for 100 years.

It should deliver the best economic and engineering solution –
it should not be a poor compromise. Such an outcome would be
a tragedy for Australia and would cripple the nation’s ability
to harness 21st century logistics to be competitive in the
Asian century.

NTR’s broader economic benefits to Australia
- Total direct and indirect employment ca. 25,000 during construction
  and ca. 3,000 during operations.
- Economic activity generated during construction: ca. $35 billion.
- Will open up regional areas of Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales for expansion of agricultural and mineral resources products through lower freight costs.
Victoria
- New 21st century food bowl alignment via Shepparton and Tocumwal is an ‘AND’ not an ‘OR’ option with existing Albury interstate route, will result in increased freight access to rail.
- 48 intermodal freight trains per week would be taken off the Albury line when NTR’s full inland rail operations commence in 2022, rising to 63 trains per week by 2030.
- Fully grade-separated and will bypass all urban areas (reducing traffic accidents, road congestion and improving amenity in rural towns).
- Will result in a reduction of 700 truck movements per day on Victorian roads by 2031 (including a 35% reduction in truck movements on the Goulburn Valley Highway).

New South Wales
- More to capitalise on agricultural output to meet growing foods demands of Asia and beyond.
- Parkes to become the “Chicago Rail Hub” of Australia – positioned at the crossroads of the north-south and east-west rail lines.
- Sydney will benefit from additional rail capacity for passenger and intra-NSW freight movements – 48 intermodal freight trains per week would be taken off the Sydney metropolitan rail network when NTR operations commence in 2022, rising to ~63 trains by 2030.
- Upgrading of the Northern Sydney Freight Corridor to accommodate interstate intermodal trains could be deferred by up to 20 years, from the current 2028 date.
- Fully grade-separated and will bypass all urban areas (reducing traffic accidents, road congestion and improving amenity in rural towns).
- Will result in a reduction of 60% in truck movements on the Newell Highway by 2031 – currently 1800 trucks per day (2015).
Queensland

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