The $180 Million Bill to Calculate the Inland Rail Blow-Out

Taxpayers footed a bill of more than $179 million over three years for consultants investigating the cost and economics of the project.

A coal train travels through the Hunter Valley in Singleton, Australia, on April 15, 2023. Roni Bintang/Getty Images

Consultant firms were paid almost $180 million ($US129 million) to estimate the bloated Inland Rail budget, while a departing executive got $317,000 soon before half the freight route was scrapped.

The federal government shelved the Inland Rail route north of Parkes, in central NSW, in early May, amid a budget blow-out of at least $45.6 billion.