Albanese government abandons beleaguered inland rail project connecting NSW with Queensland

Originally envisioned to run 1,700km from Melbourne to a port near Brisbane, the mega infrastructure project will now only connect Beveridge in Victoria to Parkes in NSW

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The Albanese government will drastically scale back the beleaguered inland rail project, abandoning plans to connect country NSW and Queensland by rail, as the price tag blows out to more than $45bn.

Originally envisioned to run 1,700km from Melbourne to a port near Brisbane, the mega infrastructure project will now only connect Beveridge, on the outskirts of Melbourne, to Parkes in central-west New South Wales – about half the distance – with the government reallocating $1.75bn of the funding to other national rail upgrades.