A recently completed cost-benefit study on the $4.7 billion proposed Melbourne-Brisbane line found the project would have a negative net worth, even if construction were delayed until 2040 to allow for freight traffic demand to grow. “Inland Rail will not generate sufficient access revenue relative to costs to make it financially viable. The total nominal capital and operating costs exceeded the total nominal track access revenues, regardless of the assumed operational start date of 2020, 2030 or 2040,” the Australian Rail Track Corporation study concluded. The study also found that the inland line would cut the traffic on the coastal Melbourne to Sydney and Brisbane to Sydney routes by a third. This would have a negative impact equivalent to A$1.6 billion. It would also threaten the future of existing railways through Sydney.
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