The 2017-18 Federal Budget announced that the 128 kilometre stretch of the Inland Rail Freight Corridor between Gowrie and Kagaru would be delivered through a Public Private Partnership (PPP).
Considered the most technically complex of the 13 sections within the Inland Rail Freight Corridor, the Gowrie to Kagaru project consists of the following three sections:
- 28 kilometre Gowrie to Helidon (G2H) section
- 47 kilometre Helidon to Calvert (H2C) section, and
- 53 kilometre Calvert to Kagaru (C2K) section.
In total, the scope of the Gowrie to Kagaru PPP comprises:
- 128 kilometres of new dual gauge track
- eight kilometres of tunnels, including a 6.2-kilometre tunnel through the Toowoomba Ranges
- 25 level crossings
- 10 road over rail separations
- 21 viaducts totalling 5.7 kilometres in length
- 37 river bridges, including 20 totalling between Helidon and Calvert, and
- 11 crossing loops.
Key Dates
| Oct 2018 | ROIs Open |
| Mar 2019 | EOIs Open |
| Nov 2020 | RFP Open |
| Jun 2021 | RFP Close |
| Mar 2022 | Preferred Bidder Selection |
| 2022 | Expected Construction Commencement |
| 2025 | Expected Construction Completion |
Financing
|
The project is being procured as a PPP, with the successful consortium to oversee the design, construction, finance and maintenance under a 25-year availability based contract. |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) |
| Shortlist: | Three shortlisted bidders were Capstone – a consortium comprising CPB Contractors, Ghella, UGL, DIF and Pacific Partnerships, G2Konnect – a consortium comprising ACCIONA, Ferrovial, Cintra and Macquarie, and Regionerate Rail – a consortium comprising Clough, GS Engineering and Construction, Webuild, Lendlease Services and Plenary Group. |
| Successful Tenderer: | Regionerate Rail consortium, comprising Plenary Group, Webuild, Clough, GS Engineering and Construction, and Service Stream. |
| Adviser (Govt): | BDO |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| 2017 | The Federal Government in its 2017-18 Budget announced that the Gowrie to Kagaru sections of the project are to be delivered through a Public Private Partnership (PPP). Under this delivery arrangement, the PPP contractor are expected to design, build, finance and maintain this stretch of the railway over a long-term concession period of approximately 15 to 30 years. ARTC anticipates the PPP structure will be an 'availability charge' type arrangement. The PPP will have a maintenance concession period of up to 25 years. |
| 2017 | The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Terms of References (ToR) for the G2H, H2C and C2K sections were released separately by the Queensland Government Department of State Development (DSD) in August, October and December respectively. Project information provided to DSD as part of these processes states the combined investment required for the PPP is roughly $3.6 billion. |
| Feb 2018 | The Future Freight Joint Venture, comprising Aurecon and AECOM, was awarded the feasibility design contract for the project. |
| Jun 2018 | The Future Freight Joint Venture was also awarded the contract for the detailed design work for the project. |
| Oct 2018 | The ARTC called for Registrations of Interest (ROI) for the project. |
| Nov 2018 | A contract for the geotechnical surveying of the tunnel route was awarded to Golder Associates. |
| Mar 2019 | The ARTC called for Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the project, closing on 14 May 2019. A Request for Proposal is due by the end of 2020. |
| Nov 2020 | The ARTC confirmed the procurement process had entered the Request for Proposal (RFP) phase. The three bidders invited to submit proposals were Capstone – a consortium comprising CPB Contractors, Ghella, UGL, DIF and Pacific Partnerships, G2Konnect – a consortium comprising ACCIONA, Ferrovial, Cintra and Macquarie, and Regionerate Rail – a consortium comprising Clough, GS Engineering and Construction, Webuild, Lendlease Services and Plenary Group. |
| Dec 2020 | Draft EIS for C2K section of the project was put opened for public consultation, closing on March 2021. |
| Mar 2021 | The ARTC held an information session for the local suppliers on the delivery of the PPP package. The three shortlisted bidders for the PPP package also provided briefings during the event. |
| Aug 2021 | The ARTC released the draft EIS for the Gowrie to Helidon (G2H) section of the project, closing on 25 October. The project has an estimated total cost of $1.4 billion. |
| Mar 2022 | The ARTC announced the Regionerate Rail consortium, comprising Plenary Group, Webuild, Clough, GS Engineering and Construction, and Service Stream, as the preferred bidder for the project. The consortium will oversee the design, construction, finance and maintenance of the Gowrie to Kagaru section under a 25-year availability based contract. |
| Jan 2023 | The Federal Government released the Delivery of Inland Rail: An Independent Review report which recommended negotiations commence with Regionerate Rail to change its scope to exclude double-stacking on the final section to Kagaru, and with a view to limiting costs and restructuring payment arrangements, including considering alternative contract arrangements to a PPP. The Federal Government agreed in full to the Review's recommendation. |
Sector
Rail
Procurement approach
Confirmed PPP |
Location
Queensland |
National |
Resources
Infrastructure agency resources
EIS web page for G2H section (DSD)EIS web page for H2C section (DSD)
EIS web page for C2K section (DSD)
