Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC)
Manages the interstate track under an ACCC-accepted access undertaking, and is delivering Inland Rail — the project whose independent review found the delays were caused by the proponent's own documents.
Responsibilities
- Manage and maintain the interstate rail network between Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Kalgoorlie
- Offer access under an undertaking accepted by the ACCC
- Deliver Inland Rail
Access. ARTC's interstate access undertaking sets the standard price and terms offered to freight and passenger operators, and was substantively changed for the first time since 2008. The current undertaking runs until the end of June 2029 and adds an annual stakeholder forum, an annual consultation on a Rail Network Supply Chain Optimisation Strategy, and a commercial arbitration model for access disputes in place of the previous mechanism.
Inland Rail. The cost estimate moved from $16.4 billion in 2020 to at least $31.4 billion in 2022 — the figure that prompted the Schott review — and independent cost assurance by ACIL Allen has since confirmed an estimate exceeding $45 billion for the full Melbourne-to-Brisbane project, more than three times the budget allocation, with completion not possible until at least 2036.
In May 2026 the Australian Government consolidated the project: construction from Beveridge in Victoria to Parkes in New South Wales by the end of 2027, with works north of Parkes limited to preserving the rail corridor and protecting sites for future intermodal terminals in Queensland.
And the reason matters for this database. Dr Kerry Schott's independent review found the lengthy delays were caused in large part by immature design and poor environmental impact statements that needed numerous changes and resubmissions, particularly in Queensland. That is not a finding about regulatory burden. See The independent review blamed the proponent's own documents, not the regulator.
Where this body appears in a process
Every point at which Australian Rail Track Corporation can hold something up, and why.
| Process | Step | Why it waits | Clock | Typical |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A freight train already built is approved to run from Melbourne to Brisbane | Engineering design assurance against the first network's interface standards certification | assessment | — | 120 |
| A freight train already built is approved to run from Melbourne to Brisbane | Certification and registration with the interstate network manager registration | third party | — | 60 |